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CATHARINE d E BORA, 

WIFE OF LUTHER. 



CATHARINE DE BORA; 



\ntml at& fJ mtzlit 



SCENES IN THE 



HOME OF LUTHER. 



JOHN G.' MORRIS, 

TRANSLATOR OF "THE BLIND GIRL OF WITTENBERG," AND PASTOR OF THE 
FIRST LUTHERAN CHURCH OF BALTIMORE. 



wsw* 



PHILADELPHIA: 

LINDSAY & BLAKISTON. 

1856. 



/ 



.Mb 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1856, "by 

LINDSAY & BLAKISTON, 

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for 
the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. 

STEREOTYPED BY J. PAGAN PRINTED BY C. SHERMAN & SON. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

Page 
Clerical Celibacy — Luther — Bernhardi's Mar- 
riage — Treatment of Catharine De Bora — the 
Convent — Wealthy Nuns — Convent Life — the 
Escape — Treatment of the Nuns — Florentine de 
Oberweimer — Leonard Koppe — Luther's Defence 9 



CHAPTER II. 

Luther's Reflections — Example of the Apostles — 
Celibacy — Gregory VII. — Luther's Change of 
Mind — Luther's Marriage — Character of Catha- 
rine 27 

1* (v) 



yi CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER III. 



Wedding-Dinner — Melanchthon — Slanders . . .-~- 43 



CHAPTER IV. 

Luther's Domestic Life — Character of Catharine — 
Perils of Luther — Sickness — Death of his Parents 
— Private Life — Catharine 52 



CHAPTER V. 

Income — Expenses — Hospitality — Charity — Diet 
Afflictions — Despondency — Journeys — Death ... 70 

CHAPTER VI. 

Catharine, a Widow — Her Support — Sufferings — 
Journeys — Death . . . . 84 



CONTENTS. Vll 

CHAPTER VII. 

Luther's Children — Domestic Character — Catha- 
rine . . . . 94 

CHAPTER VIII. 
Character of Catharine. ..... ., 120 



PEEFACE. 



There are many interesting and character- 
istic incidents in the domestic life of Luther 
which are not found in biographies of the great 
Reformer. The character of his wife has not 
been portrayed in full, and who does not wish 
to become better acquainted with a woman who 
mingled many a drop of balsam in those nu- 
merous cups of sorrow which her celebrated 
husband was compelled to drink ? 

This little book is the result of extensive 
research, and exhibits facts attested by the 
most reliable authorities, many of which will be 
new to those of my readers who have not inves- 
tigated this particular subject. 

J. G. M. 

Baltimore, June, 1856. 

(viii) 



LUTHEE AT HOME. 



CHAPTER I. 

Clerical Celibacy — Luther — Bernhardi's Marriage — Treat- 
ment of Catharine de Bora — the Convent — Wealthy 
Nuns — Convent Life — the Escape — Treatment of the 
Nuns — Florentine de Oberweimer — Leonard Koppe — 
Luther's Defence. 

The celibacy of the clergy was one of the 
strongest pillars on which the proud edifice of 
Romish power rested. It was a stupendous 
partition-wall which separated the clergy from 
all other interests, and thus consolidated the 
wide-spread authority of the Pope. It cut off 
the secular clergy, as well as the monks, from 
all domestic ties. They forgot father, mother, 
and friends. Political obligations to their 
sovereign and country were disregarded, but 
the cord which bound them to the interests of 
Rome was only the more tightly drawn. 

(9) 



10 CLERICAL CELIBACY, 

Superior purity was the presumed ground of 
the system, but a total surrender of all rights, 
and complete submission to the will of the Pope, 
were its legitimate results. He was regarded 
as the only parent of the clergy — the only 
sovereign to whom they owed allegiance — the 
only protector in whom they were to confide, 
and, as dutiful sons, obedient subjects, and 
grateful beneficiaries, they were obliged to exert 
themselves to the utmost to maintain his 
authority and extend his dominion. Clerical 
celibacy was regarded not only as a duty, but 
as the highest attainment in moral perfection. 
The system was introduced with caution and 
maintained with sleepless vigilance and zeal. 
There were some who saw its errors and disad- 
vantages, and desired its abolition, but their 
remonstrances were unheeded and their clamors 
silenced. 

That, however, which was considered impos- 
sible by the whole Christian world, was accom- 
plished by a single man, who himself had been 
a monk, and whose first duty as such was a 
vow of celibacy ! That man was Martin 
Luther, Augustinian Monk, Doctor of Theology 
at the University of Wittenberg, who, by his 



BERNHARDl'S MARRIAGE. 11 

heroic conduct in relation to this subject, has 
only added to the other inappreciable services 
he has rendered the Church. It was he who 
was bold enough to abandon the monastic order, 
and, in spite of the principles of the Church as 
they prevailed in that age, to enter the married 
state. This adventurous step led to the deliver- 
ance of a large portion of the clergy from the 
chain of Papal power. From having been the 
slavish satellites of a foreign master in Italy, 
they became patriotic subjects and useful men 
at home. 

Several years before, two friends of Luther, 
who were his noble assistants in the work of 
the Eeformation, Melanchthon and Carlstadt, 
had written treatises against clerical celibacy. 
Their books on this subject were equally as 
unexpected, and created as much excitement 
among the clergy, as Luther's Theses against 
Indulgences had done six years before. 

Luther was not the first priest of those days 
who practically rejected celibacy. As early as 
1521, one of his friends and fellow-laborers, 
Bernhardi, superintendent of the churches at 
Kemberg, had the boldness to marry. He was 
the first ecclesiastic in Saxony who took this 



12 PERSECUTION OF BERNHARDT 

step, and his wedding-day was long regarded as 
the Pastors' Emancipation Day ; but Caspar 
Aquila, a priest residing near Augsburg, was 
married as early as 1516, Jacob Knabe in 
1518, and Nicolas Erunner in 15T9. 

Luther was free from all participation in 
Bernhardi's marriage, for at that time he was a 
prisoner in Wartburg Castle, and the first 
intelligence came so unexpectedly, that whilst 
he admired the courage of his friend, he was 
very apprehensive it would occasion him and 
his cause many severe trials. Not long after, 
Bernhardi's metropolitan, the Cardinal Arch- 
bishop Albert, of Mainz and Magdeburg, 
demanded of the Elector of Saxony, Frederick 
the Wise, to send Bernhardi to Halle, to answer 
for his presumptuous act. Frederick did not 
yield to the demand of the Archbishop, and 
the latter professed to be satisfied with an 
anonymous defence of Bernhardi. 

Luther himself sent a petition to Albert in 
behalf of the clergy who had already married 
and of those who intended to marry. Subse- 
quently, however, Bernhardi suffered severely. 
When, in 1547, more than twenty years after 
his nuptials, the Emperor Charles V. captured 



LUTHER DECIDES TO MARRY. 13 

Wittenberg, his savage Spaniards seized Bern- 
hardt and bound him fast to a table. His wife 
rescued him from their murderous hands ; but, 
soon after, others laid hold of him, and after 
cruelly beating him, tied him to a horse and 
dragged him to the camp at Torgau. A Ger- 
man officer, after much trouble, had him 
liberated, and he finally, after unexampled 
suffering, reached his family at Kemberg. A 
considerable number of priests followed the 
example of Bernhardi. They were not deterred 
by the ban of the bishops, nor by the fear of 
deposition and imprisonment. But all this 
would not have created such immense excite- 
ment if Luther himself, to whom all eyes were 
directed, had not resolved, by his own example, 
to strike a deadly blow at priestly celibacy. 

Catharine de Bora, a nun of the celebrated 
Bernhardin or Cistercian convent at Nimtschen, 
in Saxony, was the person whom Luther chose 
as his wife. She was born on the 29th of 
January, 1499. There is no authentic record 
of the place of her birth, and the history of 
her childhood is wrapped in obscurity. It is 
only as the nun Catharine that we first became 
acquainted with her. Her Romish calumniators 
2 



14 CATHARINE DE BORA. 

(and no innocent woman was ever more bitterly 
and cruelly defamed,) declare that her parents 
compelled her to become a nun against her will, 
because they were poor and could not support 
her, and particularly because her conduct was 
so objectionable that her seclusion was neces- 
sary. As regards the first, it is true ; she was 
not wealthy when she became the wife of 
Luther ; but, if she had been compelled to enter 
the nunnery, it is likely that Luther would 
have mentioned it as an additional justification 
of her flight. Her objectionable morality is 
based by her enemies on the fact of her escape, 
and hence the accusation has no ground what- 
ever. There is not a particle of proof to 
establish the calumnious charge. 

This Convent was designated by the name of 
The Throne of Grod. It was founded in 1250 
by Henry the Illustrious. No trace of it 
remains at the present day. In 1810-12 its 
ruins were removed to make room for the erec- 
tion of an edifice connected with a school for 
boys established at that place. 

Most of the inmates of this Convent were of 
noble birth, for at that day, as well as at 
present, it was the policy and interest of the 



CONVENT LIFE. 15 

Romish clergy to induce as many ladies of high 
rank as possible to take the veil, thereby ren- 
dering the profession respectable, and securing 
large sums as entrance fees if they were wealthy, 
and all their patrimony after their decease. 

It may seem strange that Catharine de Bora, 
who, according to her own confession, was 
devout, industrious in the discharge of con- 
ventual duties, and diligent in prayer, should 
have determined with eight other " sisters" to 
escape from their prison. But when it is con- 
sidered that the convent was situated within the 
territory of the Elector Frederick the Wise, 
who was Luther's friend and patron — that 
Luther himself visited a neighboring monastery 
at Grrimma as Inspector — that in 1519, after 
the dispute with Eck at Leipzig, he spent a few 
days in the town of Nimtschen — that the 
principles of the Reformation had already made 
some progress in that vicinity, and that several 
monasteries not far distant had been abandoned 
— the circumstance is easily explained. It is 
scarcely credible that amid the excitement of 
the times, no word of Luther's doctrine should 
have entered the convent halls, and that the 
stirring events occurring around them should 



16 THE ESCAPE. 

have been entirely concealed from the unobtru- 
sive occupants. Could not some of those 
courageous friends of Luther, who afterwards, 
at his suggestion, effected the escape of the 
nuns, have previously introduced some of 
Luther's tracts into the convent ? He had at 
that time already written several small books 
against the monastic life, and it is likely that 
some of these had been clandestinely introduced, 
the perusal of which convinced these " sisters" 
that their profession was not sanctioned by the 
Scriptures, and that it was dangerous to their 
morals. They became so thoroughly assured 
of the enormous error they had committed in 
thus secluding themselves from the world, and 
were so heartily weary of the unnatural restraint 
imposed upon them, that they earnestly besought 
their relatives to liberate them for their souls' 
sake ! But these appeals were unheard, and 
now probably the unhappy petitioners turned 
immediately to Luther. He not only favored 
their resolution to escape, but selected his 
courageous friend, Bernhard Koppe, a citizen 
of Torgau, to execute the project. Two other 
citizens of the same place accompanied him on 
the adventure. 



THE ESCAPE. 17 

George Spalatin, Court Chaplain and Secre- 
tary of the Elector, reports that they fled from 
the convent on the night before Easter, April 
4, 1523. There were nine of them in all. 

The accounts of the manner in which their 
rescue was effected, differ. Some historians 
report that prudence required them to preserve 
the strictest secrecy as long as they were 
traversing the territory of Duke George, who 
was violently opposed to the Reformation, and 
hence they were conveyed away in a covered 
wagon, and a few affirm, on the authority of 
reliable documents, that they were concealed in 
casks. The historians, however, agree that 
Koppe performed his part in the enterprise with 
consummate courage and skill. It is very 
likely that the nuns were aware of Koppe's 
design, and held themselves in readiness at the 
appointed time. Tradition tells us that they 
escaped through the window of Catharine's 
cell. To this day, they show at Nimtschen a 
slipper which they say Catharine lost in the 
hurry of the flight. 

They arrived at Wittenberg on the 7th of 
April, under circumstances calculated to excite 
the sympathy of every feeling heart. As they 
2* B 



18 THE NUNS. 

deserted the convent against the will of their 
relatives, and most of them probably being 
orphans, they did not know where to find shelter 
or support. But Luther, who had advised their 
flight, and aided in effecting it, kindly received 
them, and spared no pains to render their con- 
dition comfortable. In a few but expressive 
words to Spalatin, he announced their arrival 
and depicted their destitution. He thus writes 
on the 10th of April : " These eloped nuns have 
come to me ; they are in destitute circumstances, 
but as very respectable citizens of Torgau have 
brought them, there can be no suspicion enter- 
tained as to their moral character. I sincerely 
pity their forlorn state, and particularly that 
of the great number still confined in convents, 
who are going to ruin in that condition of con- 
strained and unnatural celibacy. * * * How 
tyrannical and cruel,' ' continues Luther, " many 
parents and relatives of these oppressed women 
in Germany are ! But ye popes and bishops ! who 
can censure you with sufficient severity? who 
can sufficiently abominate your wickedness and 
blindness for upholding these accursed institu- 
tions ? But this is not the place to speak at 
large on this subject. You ask, dear Spalatin, 



THE NUNS. 19 

what I intend to do with these nuns ? I shall 
report these facts to their relatives, so that they 
may provide for them. If they should refuse, 
I shall look to some other persons, for several 
have promised aid. Their names are Marga- 
retta Staupitz, Elizabeth de Carnitz, Eva Gros- 
sin, Eva Schonfield and her Sister Margaret, 
Lunette de Golis, Margaret de Zeschau and 
her sister Catharine, and Catharine de Bora. 
They are, indeed, objects worthy of compassion, 
and Christ will be served by conferring favors 
on them." 

As he could not afford to support them him- 
self, he begged his friend to solicit donations at 
court, that these fugitives might be supported 
for several weeks. By that time he hoped to 
send them to their friends or patrons. . As 
Spalatin did not reply immediately, Luther 
wrote again, and begged not to be forgotten. 
He added, "Yea, I even exhort the Prince to 
send a contribution. I will keep it a profound 
secret, and tell no one that he gave anything 
to these apostate nuns who have been rescued 
from their prison." 

There is no doubt that the Elector, who 
esteemed Luther highly, sent him the desired 



20 THE NUNS. 

relief. The pacific Prince only wished the fact 
of his contribution to be kept secret, that he 
might not give the Romish clergy, and particu- 
larly Duke George of Saxony, occasion for new 
complaint. 

Luther's intercessions in behalf of the nuns 
with their relatives seem to have been fruitless, 
but the people of Wittenberg were liberal 
beyond his expectations in their donations for 
their support. They were kindly received into 
various families, and hospitably entertained. 
In this way Philip Reichenbach, a magistrate 
of the city, became the protector or foster-father 
of Catharine de Bora, who, by her virtuous and 
dignified behavior, rendered herself worthy of 
his paternal benevolence. This is, of itself, a 
sufficient refutation of the slanders of Romish 
writers, who charge her with leading a dissolute 
life until her marriage with Luther ; for no city 
official, such as Reichenbach, would have 
hazarded his own character by harboring a 
licentious woman. Neither would Dr. Glacius 
and other eminent divines have sought her 
hand in marriage, as they perseveringly did, 
nor would she have enjoyed the friendship and 
confidence of Amsdorff and other professors of 



THE NUNS. 21 

the "University if she had not sustained a char- 
acter above suspicion. The epitaph on her 
tomb-stone at Torgau commemmorates her 
virtues in most exalted terms of eulogy, from 
the time of her escape to her death. 

The flight of the nuns was itself an unusual 
event, but it became immensely important, for 
extraordinary consequences resulted from it. 
Pains were taken to conceal the bold step they 
had assumed, especially from all other convents. 
But these exertions were useless ; nuns at other 
places heard what their more adventurous 
sisters at Nimtschen had dared to do, and they 
also undertook to fly from their narrow, un- 
wholesome cells to breathe the pure air of 
heaven. The abbess and four other nuns of 
the Benedictine convent at Zeitz; six at Sor- 
mitz ; eight at Pentwitz, and sixteen at 
"Wiedenstadt, escaped in a short time. Luther's 
enemies now assailed him with ferocious ma- 
lignity. They regarded him as the author of 
all this enormous mischief, and tried to show 
that his work was productive of nothing but 
unmitigated evil, because it occasioned such 
abominable results as the flight of poor nuns 
from their convent prisons. Luther replied to 



22 FLORENTINE DE OBERWEIMER. 

them very briefly ; he represented the dark 
side of the picture of conventual life, and nar- 
rated some striking facts in illustration. He 
published the life of a nun, Florentine de Oher- 
tv timer, who had escaped from a convent at 
Eisleben. " I was but six years old," she says, 
" when I was sent to the convent by my parents. 
When I was eleven, without knowing or being 
asked whether I could or would observe the 
rules, I was compelled to take the vow. When 
I was fourteen, and I began to find out that 
this mode of life was against my nature, and 
hence complained to the abbess, she told me 
that I must be contented and should continue 
to be a nun no matter what I thought or felt. 
I then wrote to the learned Dr. Luther and 
begged his advice : but my letter was inter- 
cepted by my superiors, who immediately put 
me in prison, where I remained four weeks and 
suffered much. The abbess then put me under 
the bans. (Florentine then minutely describes 
the severe treatment she received before the 
ban was dissolved.) After that, I wrote to my 
relative, Caspar de Watzdorf, who loved the 
gospel truth, and complained of my treatment. 
This also became known to the abbess, and I 



FLORENTINE DE OBERWEIMER. 23 

cannot tell to strangers how shamefully I was 
abused by her and others. I ivas so violently 
beaten by her and four other persons that they 
became completely exhausted. She put me in 
prison again and fastened my feet with iron 
chains/' &c., &c. 

In the dedication of this little book to the 
Duke of Mansfeld, in whose dominions the 
convent was located, Luther wrote on the 2nd 
of March, 1524, " What are you about, ye 
princes and lords, that ye drive the people to 
God whether they will or not ? It is not your 
office nor in your power. To outward obedience 
you may compel them, but God will regard no 
vow that is not cheerfully and voluntarily kept. 
Hence, my dear, gracious sirs, I have published 
this little narrative that all the world may know 
what conventual life is, and the deviVs folly 
thus be made known. There are princes and 
lords who are very indignant about this affair, 
and it is no wonder. If they knew what I know, 
they would perhaps honor me more for it, and 
contribute much more towards spreading it 
abroad than I am doing." 

But Luther was not the only one who was 
charged with being accessory to the flight of 



24 LEONARD KOPPE. 

these nuns. Leonard Koppe, as the chief 
instrument in effecting their escape, was, per- 
haps, exposed to greater dangers and persecu- 
tions than Luther, who was powerfully protected 
by his prince. For although Koppe had formerly 
been a councillor and a government auditor, 
yet he had reason to fear the worst treatment 
from the clergy if his participation in the act 
should become generally known. Hence he 
sought to conceal it : but Luther, who was a 
stranger to the fear of man, and who, in all 
things, went to work openly and boldly, was of 
a different opinion. Fully convinced that 
Koppe had performed a meritorious act, of 
which he should not be ashamed, but rather 
boast, he mentioned his name in a letter to 
Spalatin a few days after the escape of the 
nuns ; but he also deemed it prudent to write 
to Koppe and inspire him with courage. " Be 
assured/' he writes, "that God has so ordained 
it, and that it is not your work or counsel; 
never mind the clamor of those who denounce 
it as a most wicked undertaking, and who do 
not believe it was so ordered of God. Shame ! 
shame ! they will say; the fool, Leonard Koppe, 
has suffered himself to be led by that cursed 



luther's defence. 25 

heretical monk, and has aided nine nuns to fly 
from the convent at once and to violate their 
vows. To this you will reply : ' This is 
indeed a strange ivay of keeping the thing 
secret. You are betraying me, and the whole 
convent of Nimtschen will be up against me, or 
they will now hear that I have been the robber.' 
But my reasons for not keeping it secret are 
good: 1. That it may be known that I did 
not advise it to be concealed ; for what we do, 
we do in and for God, and do not shun the 
light of day. Would to heaven I could in this 
or some other way rescue all troubled con- 
sciences and empty all convents ! I would not 
be afraid to confess my own agency in the 
business, nor that of all my assistants. Confi- 
dence in Jesus, whose gospel is destroying the 
kingdom of Antichrist, would sustain me, even 
if it should cost me my life. 2. I do it for the 
sake of the poor nuns, and of their relatives, 
so that no one may be able to say they were 
involuntarily abducted by wicked fellows, and 
thus be robbed of their reputation. 3. To 
warn the nobility and pious gentry who have 
children in convents to take them away them- 
selves, so that no worse thing befal them. You 
3 



26 luther's defence. 

know that I advised and sanctioned the enter- 
prise ; that you executed it, and that the nuns 
consented and earnestly desired it, and I will 
here briefly give the reasons for it before God 
and the world. First, The nuns themselves had 
before most humbly solicited the help of their 
relatives and friends in effecting their release ; 
they gave them satisfactory reasons why such a 
life could no longer be endured, for it interfered 
with their souls' salvation, and they promised 
to be faithful and dutiful children when they 
should be released. All this was positively 
denied to them, and they were forsaken by all 
their relations. Hence they had the right, 
yea, were compelled to relieve their burdened 
consciences, and save their souls by seeking 
help from other quarters, and those who were 
in a position to afford counsel and aid, were 
bound by Christian love to bestow them. 
Secondly, It is not right that young girls should 
be locked up in convents where there is no daily 
use made of the word of God, and where the 
gospel is seldom or never heard, and where, of 
course, these girls are exposed to the severest 
temptations. Thirdly, It is plain that a person 
may be compelled to do before the world what 



luther's reflections. 27 

is not cheerfully done ; but before God and in 
bis service no one has a right to use compulsion. 
Fourthly, Women were created for other pur- 
poses than to spend a lazy and useless life in a 
convent. 



CHAPTER II. 

Luther's Reflections — Example of the Apostles — Celibacy 
— Gregory VII. — Luther's Change of Mind — Luther's 
Marriage — Character of Catharine. 

All these preliminary steps were not unpre- 
meditated by Luther. Encouraged by the 
example of other clergymen who had married, 
he now began seriously to reflect on the pro- 
priety of clerical matrimony. 

In these reflections he found no difficulty as 
regards the secular clergy, that is, those who 
officiated as pastors of churches, because he 
considered their office as divinely instituted, 
and he knew from history that their celibacy 
was forced by the popes under the most cruel 
oppression. For although Paul advised the 



28 CLERICAL CELIBACY. 

Christians of Corinth to remain unmarried 
during the season of persecution,* yet the first 
teachers of Christianity, and even Peter and 
most of the other apostles, were married men.f 
Besides, celibacy is no where regarded as a 
meritorious condition in the New Testament. 
Christ himself distinctly commends matrimonial 
affection and harmony, and Paul teaches that 
it is better to lead a married, than an unchaste 
life.J 1 Cor. 7 ; 2, 9, 28. 

Notwithstanding all this, even during the 
first three centuries, a peculiar merit began to 
be attached to celibacy. Many bishops, who 
were, it is true, poorly enough supported, 
abstained from matrimony, or, if they were 

* 1 Cor. 7 ; 7, 8, 26, 28. 

f 1 Tim. 3 ; 2, 12. Tit. 1 ; 6. 1 Cor. 9 ; 5, 6. Matt. 
8; 14. Markl; 1. Luke 4 ; 38. 

% The passage 1 Cor. 9 ; 5, 6, speaks of Christian 
married ivomen, who accompanied the apostles on their 
travels. From this and other passages it is undeniable 
that most of the apostles, and that, too, during their 
apostleship, were married men. John probably lived 
unmarried ; and Paul seems to say the same of himself. 
1 Cor. 7 : 7, 8, compare ch. 9 ; 5. 6. The idea that in 
Phil. 4; 3, he is speaking of his own wife, conflicts with 
the connection of the verse. 



CLERICAL CELIBACY. 29 

married, separated from their wives. A second 
marriage was particularly disapproved. But 
as yet there was no law on the subject, and the 
celibacy of the bishops was far from being 
general. Many of them were married men. 
It was only in the fourth century that it became 
a general custom for the bishops to lead single 
lives, and several councils held during this 
period, in this respect severely oppressed the 
secular clergy. At the council of Nice, held in 
the year 325, the first serious attempt was made 
to introduce celibacy, but the attempt failed 
through the influence of Bishop Paphnutius, of 
Upper Thebes. From this time, most of the 
bishops tried their utmost to prevent their 
secular clergy from marrying. Some Popes, 
since the end of the fourth century, such as 
Siricius, Innocent I., Gregory II., Nicolas I., 
and Leo IX. also made attempts to restrain the 
priests. The predictions of Paul in 1 Tim. 4 ; 
1, 3, were soon fulfilled. Scarcely had Gregory 
VII. arrived at the papal dignity than he 
exerted all his influence to render the secular 
clergy independent of the state, and this he 
thought could be best accomplished through 
celibacy. The orders which he communicated 
3* 



30 CLERICAL CELIBACY. 

to the council held at Rome in 1074 in relation 
to this subject were very severe ; the married 
clergy were to be separated from their wives 
or be deposed, and from that time forth no man 
was to be ordained to the clerical office who 
would not bind himself to remain unmarried all 
his life. The opposition to this severe regula- 
tion was strong. In Germany they even com- 
mitted violence on the papal ambassador, and 
openly reproached the Pope as a heretic, who 
disregarded the plain instructions of the Scrip- 
tures and introduced regulations which militated 
against human nature and Divine Providence, 
and which would lead to the most scandalous 
improprieties. When Archbishop Siegfried of 
Mainz held a council at Erfurt, and communi- 
cated the commands of the Pope to the secular 
clergy, the excitement was so great that he was 
in danger of his life. The Archbishop of 
Passau did not fare better. At the council of 
Worms, in 1076, Germans and French violently 
opposed the Pope, and proclaimed him as a 
usurper of the papal sovereignty. At a meet- 
ing in Pavia, the Italian bishops even put this 
Pope under the ban. 

Notwithstanding all this oppposition, Gregory 



MONASTIC CELIBACY. 31 

could not be turned from his purpose. He 
executed his orders with all possible severity, 
and even demanded of the princes to forbid 
those priests who would not obey him from 
administering the sacraments or reading mass. 
Thus his unnatural law triumphed in 1080, 
though not universally, for Urban II. felt him- 
self compelled in 1089 and 1095 to re-enact it, 
and it was reserved for Innocent III. in 1215 
more firmly to establish celibacy as a disci- 
plinary law, although, long before this, marriage 
had been declared to be a sacrament. In his 
address in 1520 to his Imperial Majesty and 
German nobility, Luther strenuously advocated 
the marriage of the secular clergy. 

He entertained different views, however, with 
regard to the monastic order, and he made 
their celibacy a subject of investigation at 
Wartburg castle. Although, thought he, their 
office is not of divine appointment, yet they had 
chosen it, and had consecrated themselves to 
God ; in most instances they had voluntarily 
assumed the vow, and hence were bound to 
keep it. Melanchthon, who had married a 
short time before, and Carlstadt, who followed 
his example a short time after, to Luther's 



o2 MONASTIC CELIBACY. 

great joy, had both advocated the marriage of 
the monastic clergy in their writings, although 
not altogether with his approbation.* " Our 
Wittenbergers even wish the monks to have 
wives !" thus he wrote to Spalatin, August 6th, 
1521, " but they shall force no wife on me ! 
I wish Carlstadt's book had more light and 
distinctness, for it contains much talent and 
learning."f 

But Luther's penetrating mind soon dis- 
covered the truth. He communicated his new- 
formed opinion to his father, and openly came 
out in favor of the marriage of the monks. 
Although he now sturdily maintained this side 

* Melanchthon married (Nov. 25, 1520,) Anna 
Krappe, daughter of the burgomaster of Wittenberg ; 
Carlstadt, (Dec. 26, 1521,) Anna von Michael. Soon 
after, he gave his reasons for this step in a letter to the 
Elector, in which he says, " I have learned from the 
Scriptures that there is no condition of life more 
pleasing to God, more blessed and more consistent with 
Christian liberty than the married state, if we live in it 
agreeably to God's design." Luther highly approved 
of the measure. 

f He thus expressed himself in one of his tracts : " I 
hope I have come so far that by the grace of God I may 
remain as I am, although 1 have not yet got over the 
difficulty." 



LUTHER RESOLVES TO MARRY. 33 

of the question, yet he did not at this time feel 
himself inclined to matrimony. This was in 
the autumn of 1522. 

Two years after this (1524), when he heard 
of a report in circulation that he was to be 
married, he thus wrote to Spalatin : u From 
the opinion which I have hitherto had, and now 
have, it is probable I shall never marry; not 
that I do not feel myself to be flesh and blood, 
for I am neither wood nor stone, but I feel no 
inclination in that way." Still, he highly 
honored the married relation as an institution 
of God. Long after this he wrote thus to his 
friend Stiefel : "I did not marry as though I 
expected to live long, but to establish my doc- 
trine by my example, and to leave behind me a 
consolation for weak consciences." " I married 
also for the purpose of opposing the doctrine 
of Satan, and putting to shame the scandalous 
immorality practised in the papacy, and if I 
had no wife I would now marry even in my old 
age, just to honor the divine institution and 
to pour contempt on the ungodly lives of so 
many popish priests." 

Luther's mind gradually underwent a change. 
He now secretly resolved to marry Catharine, 

c 



34 LUTHER RESOLVES TO MARRY. 

who had already, as we shall see below, ex- 
pressed a tender feeling towards him. An 
intimation of his purpose we have in a letter to 
his relative, Dr. John Kuhl, of May 4, 1525 : 
"If I can manage to spite the devil, I will 
marry Catharine before I die if I hear that my 
enemies continue their reproaches." From this 
it is evident that he would not have married, at 
least at this time, if the clamor of his enemies, 
the fear and weakness of his friends, and 
various other circumstances, had not determined 
him to take the step. The generous and public 
declaration of John the Constant* in favor of 
the Reformation, as well as his own opposition 
to the celibacy of the clergy, and the desire of 
gratifying the long-expressed wish of his father, 
hastened the consummation of his design. 
" Thus," says he, " I could no longer deny this 
last act of obedience to my dear father, who 
earnestly entreated me to marry." Besides 
this, he wished to set an example to others 
around him, for many whom he advised to 
marry had reproached him for writing against 

* His brother and predecessor, Frederick the Wise, 
had died May 5, 1525. 



CATHARINE. 35 

monastic celibacy and yet not practising his 
own doctrine. 

In the meantime, he wrote frequently to his 
friends on this subject, and what gratified him 
much in the prospect of his marriage was the 
chagrin it would occasion the Romish party, 
and subsequent experience proved that he was 
not disappointed in his hopes. 

Anxious as he was to consummate the event, 
yet his choice of Catharine was not precipitate. 
It was only after he was assured of the super- 
lative excellence of her character that he offered 
her his hand. She conducted herself in her 
lowly circumstances with such a reserved and 
womanly dignity that he thought her to be 
somewhat prudish and proud, and it was only 
after a more intimate acquaintance that he 
perceived her numerous good qualities. " If I 
had felt a disposition to marry thirteen years 
ago," says he, "I would have preferred Eva 
Schonfield, who is now the w T ife of Dr. BasiJius. 
I did not love my Catharine at that time, for I 
suspected her of being proud. But it has 
pleased God otherwise, and, blessed be His 
name, all things have turned out well, for I 
have a pious, faithful wife, as Solomon says, 



ob THOUGHTS OF MARRIAGE. 

Prov. 81 ; 11, my heart doth safely trust in 
her, and she contributes so much to my content 
and manages my affairs so prudently, that I have 
no need of spoil, that is, I have no temptation 
to envy the wealth of others or to prey upon 
my neighbors. " 

Nor was she, on her part, in a hurry about 
giving her consent, but she deliberated long. 
Though she was poor, yet she followed the 
inclination of her heart. 

Before he thought of marrying her himself 
he recommended her to Jerome S. Baumgartner, 
a Nurnberg Patrician, and a student of theology, 
who had a very tender regard for Catharine, 
and to whom she was not altogether indifferent. 
Luther wrote to him (Oct. 12, 1524,) : " If you 
have made up your mind to marry Catharine, 
you had better be in a hurry before another 
takes her who is near at hand. She has not 
ceased to love you, and I should be much 
gratified to see you marry her." But his re- 
commendation was of no avail, probably because 
Baumgartner, after his return home, was capti- 
vated by some other lady. The other suitor to 
whom Luther alludes was Dr. Caspar Glacius, 
vicar of the Archdeaconate of the Castle Church 



THOUGHTS OF MARRIAGE. 37 

at Wittenberg. Luther favored his pretensions 
to her hand, and this led her to complain to 
Amsdorff, Luther's friend. She requested him 
to induce Luther to cease his importunity in 
behalf of Glacius, for whom she had no incli- 
nation whatever. She, however, honestly 
acknowledged to Amsdorff she would not refuse 
an offer either from himself or Luther. She 
was not mistaken in her estimate of Glacius, 
for he was an ill-tempered man, who never was 
at peace with his congregation, and was dis- 
missed from his office in 1537. 

The marriage of a nun was, until that time, 
unheard of, and hence we need not wonder 
that Luther's enemies took every opportunity 
to calumniate him as well as his intended wife. 
As Erasmus says, " It was at that time an 
almost universal sentiment that the Antichrist 
would be the son of a monk and a nun;" and 
he remarks in relation to this old saying, " If 
this were true, the world has had thousands of 
Antichrists !" His enemies knew too well how 
to make the most of this popular belief, but 
they went still further, and charged him with 
all the misfortunes that befel the country ; the 
demolition of the convents in the Peasants' 
4 



38 lutiier's marriage. 

War, and other similar calamities, for they said 
that he inflamed the hatred of the peasants 
against monastic life and the possessions of the 
clergy, "And all this he did/' they affirmed, 
" that he might marry." 

But many of his friends also disapproved of 
such an alliance. " Our wise men are fiercely 
excited on the subject," wrote Luther, after 
his marriage, to Stiefel. " They must confess 
it is the work of God, but my professional 
character, as well as that of the lady, blinds 
them and makes them think and speak unkindly. 
But the Lord lives, who is greater in us than 
he who is in the world, and there are more on 
my side than on theirs." 

It was perfectly in character with Luther 
not to delay the execution of a purpose he had 
once formed. He was particularly opposed to 
long-standing matrimonial engagements, and 
hence says, " I advise a speedy marriage after 
a positive engagement ; it is dangerous to post- 
pone the consummation, for Satan is ready to 
oppose many obstacles, by means of slanderers, 
and sometimes the friends of both parties inter- 
fere. Hence do not postpone the affair. If I 
had not married secretly, and with the know- 



luther's marriage. 39 

ledge of but few friends, my marriage would 
have been prevented, for my best friends ex- 
claimed, ' Do not take this one, but another.' ' 
Hence we are not surprised to learn that his 
final engagement to Catharine and his marriage 
occurred on the same day. 

His friends did not maintain that he should 
not marry at all, but they did not esteem it 
wise that one who had been a monk should 
marry a lady who had been a nun. They 
feared that the step would retard the Reforma- 
tion among the common people, who did not 
look with indifference on the violation of the 
vow of chastity.* But Luther thought other- 
wise, and believed that by marrying a nun he 
would inflict a terrible blow on the whole 
system of monasticism. 

The most minute attention was at that time 
paid to Luther's doctrine and conduct, and the 
most unimportant circumstances in his eventful 
life were reported w T ith the greatest care. We 
should hence suppose that the precise date of 

* Dr. Jerome Scurf, Professor of Theology at Witten- 
berg, among others, said, " If this monk should marry, 
the whole world, yea, the devil himself would laugh, 
and he would thereby spoil all his previous works." 



40 luther's marriage. 

his marriage would also be noted, and yet the 
reports are very different. Melanchthon's 
statement is the most reliable, for he lived at 
that time in Wittenberg ; he had daily inter- 
course with Luther, and hence may be supposed 
to be intimately acquainted with his domestic 
circumstances. In a letter to Camerarius (July 
21, 1525,) he gives the true date of Luther's 
marriage: "As it may happen," he writes, 
"that no one will give you a correct account 
of Luther's marriage, I have thought it proper 
to inform you of the facts. On the 13th of 
June, 1525, he, quite unexpectedly, married 
Catharine De Bora." There is no good reason 
to doubt Melanchthon's report of the date, which 
is established by many other witnesses, and 
hence it is unnecessary to refute those who give 
other dates. 

Agreeably to these accounts, compared with 
others, it appears that Luther on the Tuesday 
after Trinity, June 13, 1525, in order to avoid 
all excitement, took with him John Bugenhagen 
(Pomeranius) pastor of the City Church, Dr. 
John Apel, Professor of Canonical Law, and 
Louis Cranach, Court Painter, Councillor, and 
Chamberlain, without the knowledge of his other 



luther's marriage. 41 

friends, and proceeded to the house of the town- 
clerk, Reichenbach, with whom Catharine lived, 
and there, in the presence of these three friends, 
he asked her consent in marriage. Unexpected 
as this declaration was, yet she yielded to the 
solicitation of her former deliverer and bene- 
factor. Soon after, the Provost, Dr. Justus 
Jonas, and the wife of Cranach, entered, and 
Luther was there married in the presence of 
these four witnesses, Bugenhagen performing 
the ceremony. Luther was forty-two years of 
age, and Catharine twenty-seven. He did not 
even ask the consent of the Elector ; but, as we 
shall subsequently see, he sent him an humble 
request for some game to supply his wedding 
dinner-table. 

Before the wedding, Luther offered the fol- 
lowing prayer : " Heavenly Father, inasmuch 
as thou hast honored me with the office of the 
ministry, and wilt also that I should be honored 
as a husband and the head of a family, grant 
me grace to govern my household in a godly 
and Christian manner. Grant me wisdom and 
strength to direct and train all the members of 
my family in the right way. Give them willing 
hearts and pious dispositions to be obedient, and 
4* 



42 LUTHER'S MARRIAGE. 

to follow in all things the instructions of thy 
word. Amen." 

The golden wedding-rings of Luther and his 
wife were probably not exchanged on this 
evening, but afterwards. The celebrated artist, 
Albert Durer, of Nurnberg, made them at the 
order and expense of the Patrician and Coun- 
cillor von Pirckenheim. They are minutely 
described by some writers, and exact represen- 
tations of them are given in various curious 
works. One of these rings has exchanged 
hands many times by gift, sale, and inheritance. 
Numerous imitations of them have been made, 
and sold to collectors of such articles. 

When, on the following day, the marriage of 
Luther became generally known, the town 
council of Wittenberg sent him various articles, 
such as are usually considered essential to 
wedding festivals of every age and country. 



CHAPTER III. 

Wedding-Dinner — Melanchthon — Slanders. 

Thus had Luther, actuated by the purest 
motives, suddenly and silently, entered into this 
matrimonial alliance. Now it was no longer 
secret, and in compliance with a custom com- 
mon in that day he determined to invite a 
number of his friends, in and out of Wittenberg, 
including his parents, to a wedding-dinner. 
This was to occur on the 27th of June, two 
weeks after his marriage. On that day also, 
he purposed to conduct his wife publicly to his 
own residence at the Augustinian monastery. 
To his absent friends he sent written invitations, 
seven of which are still extant. But he was 
particularly desirous of having his parents, who 
resided at Mansfeld, present on the occasion. 
He was anxious to show them that he had 
finally gratified their most ardent wishes in 
abandoning the monastic life and entering on 
matrimony. But he also wished to make them 
personally acquainted with Catharine, and to 

(43) 



44 MELANCHTHON. 

receive from them their parental blessing. 
They, with three or four others of his friends, 
accepted the invitation. At this, as well at 
the other more private festival on the day after 
his marriage, the town council of Wittenberg 
expressed their highest respect for Luther by 
sending him some essential contributions to his 
dinner. 

It may appear remarkable, at first sight, that 
Melanchthon, Luther's most intimate friend 
and inseparable companion, should not have 
been present at this nor at the previous so- 
lemnity, nor even consulted by Luther on the 
subject of his marriage. But he well knew the 
timidity and excessive sensitiveness of Melanch- 
thon. He knew that his friend was so painfully 
concerned for his reputation and peace of mind, 
that though he could not disapprove of the act, 
yet he would reprove him for the manner and 
time, fearing the evil consequences that might 
result to the work of the Reformation. Hence 
Luther did not consult Melanchthon, and even 
avoided his company at this time. The whole 
circumstance occasioned much painful anxiety 
to Melanchthon, not because he did not sanc- 
tion the act in itself, but because it would give 



CALUMNIES. 45 

the numerous enemies of Luther fresh occasion 
for more bitter persecution and more virulent 
calumny. 

Although Luther had acted with great de- 
liberation in this affair, making it a subject of 
most fervent prayer, and hastening its consum- 
mation in order only to avoid excitement, yet 
occasionally he sometimes seemed deeply de- 
pressed on that very account, because in the 
opinion of many, the whole transaction was 
calculated to injure his reputation. But through 
the fraternal consolations of Melanchthon, he 
was soon restored to his usual vivacity. He 
felt himself happy in the possession of Catha- 
rine ; for his marriage, instead of interfering 
with his numerous professional engagements, 
only inspired him with renewed courage and 
strength in the prosecution of his work. In 
many of his letters written at this period, he 
expresses the most affectionate interest in his 
wife and the most perfect satisfaction with his 
connubial state. 

It would, however, have been surprising if 
the enemies of Luther had passed in silence his 
marriage with a former nun. The most out- 
rageous slanders and abominable falsehoods 



46 ENEMIES. 

might have been anticipated. Their hatred of 
the man who had shaken the pillars of their 
spiritual despotism, was also to be vented 
against the woman whom he had chosen for his 
wife. " See," cried out these despicable slan- 
derers, " see the real design of his apostasy 
from the Catholic Church ! It was only that 
he might marry." And yet Luther was not mar- 
ried until eight years after he had taken the 
first step towards the Reformation. They 
loaded Catharine w T ith the most opprobrious and 
disgraceful epithets, and endeavored to cover 
her husband with shame and contempt. But 
they did not reflect that if Luther had been 
inclined to an irregular course of life, he might 
more easily, with much less excitement and 
much less censure too, have indulged his evil 
propensities as an unmarried monk than as a 
married clergyman. Even King Henry VIII. 
and Duke George of Saxony sent him letters 
most bitterly censuring his course. The lan- 
guage of the royal slanderer of England is 
especially vulgar, and his accusations are in- 
famous. But his more recent enemies have 
not been less virulent. Luther, in dealing such 
a terrible blow on their forefathers, has fear- 



ENEMIES. 47 

fully wounded them also, and that wound will 
never heal. They most dishonestly perverted 
his language, and endeavored to dishonor the 
name of Catharine by the most wretchedly con- 
trived and disgraceful fables. The principal 
object of Luther's enemies was to sever the 
matrimonial bond which united him and his 
wife. They exerted all their diabolical cunning 
to gain Catharine over by their machinations, 
and induce her to separate herself from Luther 
in order to return to the convent. Two young 
men, members of the University of Leipzig, 
were employed to write Eulogies on Monastic 
Life, and send them to Luther in the hope that 
they would fall into Catharine's hands, and 
induce her, as a penitent sinner, to resume the 
veil. But neither he nor his wife honored these 
writings with much attention at that time. 
They were sent back to their authors in not 
quite as good a Condition as when received, for 
the servants, without Luther's knowledge, had 
taken special pains to deface them. They 
accompanied the papers with the Latin word 
asini (asses), so ingeniously arranged in a 
square, that beginning in the centre the same 
v ord could be read in forty different directions. 



48 ENEMIES. 

Some time after, Luther answered these 
writings and constructed several amusing fables 
on them. The treatment of these eulogies by 
Luther and his wife, and especially by the ser- 
vants, created such an excitement in Leipzig 
that Jerome Walther, a councillor, found it 
necessary to communicate a full report of the 
whole transaction to the Court Chancellor of 
Duke George. The infamous attempt, however, 
to separate Luther and his wife signally failed. 
The great restorer of the true gospel doctrine 
might have lived in open profligacy as a monk, 
and it would not probably have been noticed ; 
but to marry was an unpardonable sin. The 
acknowledged teachers of the priests have laid 
down such doctrine as the following : Cardinal 
de Campeggi has taught that "It is a greater 
sin for a priest to marry than to lead an in- 
famous life." The Jesuit Coster taught that 
"Although a priest who indulges the most 
unnatural appetite commits a great evil, yet he 
sins still more if he marries ;" and Cornelius a 
Lapide remarks, " For those who have taken 
the vow of chastity, it is better that they live 
unchastely than rnarry." The men who taught 
such morals were the opponents of Luther's 



Catharine's parents. 49 

marriage. The most influential of his enemies 
at this time was Erasmus, who, in the beginning 
did not disallow Luther's merits, but he was 
fond of ridicule and sarcasm. He slandered 
Catharine most infamously, but eight months 
afterwards he had the magnanimity to retract 
his false accusations. 

As we have already learned, Luther had 
determined to give a particular wedding-festival 
especially for the sake of his own parents, but 
we have no account of his having invited the 
parents of his wife. Every unprejudiced reader 
will conclude that either her parents were dis- 
satisfied with her flight and marriage, or, what 
is more probable, they were no longer living. 
For from the well-known letter of Luther to 
Koppe, we cannot even with certainty conclude 
that her parents were living at the time of her 
escape from the convent. He states that those 
nine nuns had most earnestly implored their 
parents and relatives to deliver them from the 
prison, from which w T e presume that some of 
them were orphans, and for this reason applied 
to their relations. But Luther's enemies still 
maintained that the parents of his wife were 
living, but were of no account, and hence not 
5 d 



50 Catharine's parents. 

mentioned at all. It is likely that poverty first 
moved them to place their daughter in a convent 
early in life. Luther and some of his cotempo- 
raries bear testimony to the fact that she pos- 
sessed no property. At one place he thus 
expresses himself relative to the condition of 
her property, " As thou gavest her to me, so I 
return her to thee again, thou faithful God, 
who richly aboundest in all things ; support, 
sustain, and teach her as thou hast supported, 
sustained, and taught me, thou Father of the 
orphan and judge of the widow." Even if she 
had taken property with her into the convent, 
how could she have secured it in her flight? 
But when Erasmus writes and says, " Luther 
has married a wife, a most beautiful daughter 
of the celebrated family of Bora, but, as is said, 
without a fortune," this might also proceed 
from the dissatisfaction of her relatives with 
her marriage and her flight from the convent. 
But though those enemies of Luther could 
not exactly show the humble condition of his 
wife's parents, others tried hard to throw doubt, 
at least, on her noble birth. They could not 
deny that her mother was entitled to that dis- 
tinction of rank, but they totally reject her 



CATHARINE. 51 

father's claim to it, and because Luther does 
not mention him in his writings, they draw the 
unsound conclusion that he must have belonged 
to the very lowest class of society. Catharine's 
honor would not in the least have been periled 
even if her father had been of humble birth. 
But the most unimportant circumstances were 
industriously used by Luther's enemies to degrade 
him ; hence, they would not allow her distin- 
guished birth, although the plainest proofs of 
the fact were given. His opponents sometimes 
contradicted each other. They all agreed in 
most scandalously calumniating him, but in 
their accusations they sometimes singularly 
differed, and often unintentionally wrote some- 
thing which was more honorable to Luther than 
injurious. Cochlaeus, for example, charges it 
as the greatest sin of Luther "that he rescued 
from the convent nine nuns, who were all of 
noble rank, and, to the eternal disgrace of so 
many distinguished families, led them away." 
Could this deadly enemy of Luther only have 
conjectured that some of his brethren of the 
faith ever intended to assail Catharine's birth, 
he would have been more careful than to have 
spoken of noble rank and distinguished families. 



52 luther's domestic life. 

But the testimony of one such cotemporary is 
proof sufficient of her noble origin, and we need 
not stop to refute those who maintain that there 
never even existed a family of de Bora. 



CHAPTER IV. 

Luther's Domestic Life — Character of Catharine — Perils 
of Luther — Sickness — Death of his Parents — Private 
Life — Catharine. 

Luther led with Catharine a very peaceful 
and happy domestic life. It would be doing 
him great injustice and placing him in the rank 
of common men, to judge of his conjugal and 
domestic demeanor from his public character. 
Here there was no trace of that severity and 
violence which can only find an apology in the 
frequent insulting conduct of his enemies, the 
unrefined spirit of the times, but, above all, in 
his burning zeal for the glory of God and the 
truth of the Gospel. No ! in the circle of his 
family he was an affectionate husband and 



Catharine's character. 53 

tender father; kind and condescending to all 
his household, and benevolent to the poor. In 
writing to Stiefel (Aug. 11, 1526), he play- 
fully says : "My rib, Kate, salutes you. She 
is well, with God's help ; she is amiable, 
obedient, and obliging in all things to a greater 
degree than I could have hoped for, thank 
heaven, so that I would not exchange my 
poverty for the wealth of Croesus." When he 
had finished his commentary on the Epistle to 
the Galatians, he cried out, " This is my letter 
to which I am betrothed; it is my Katy von 
Bora !" On the 31st of August, 1538, he thus 
writes to Bernard von Dohlen : "If I were a 
young man again, now since I have experienced 
the wickedness of the world, if a queen were 
offered to me after my Catharine, I would 
rather die than marry a second time." " I 
could not have a more obedient wife unless I 
would have one hewn out of stone." Many 
such expressions occur in his table-talk. Among 
other things, he says, " I hear that there are 
much greater faults and occasions of disagree- 
ment among married people than I find in my 
wife. This is an abundant reason that I should 
love and esteem her, because she is sincere and 
5* 



54 Catharine's character. 

upright, as a pious and discreet wife should be." 
"I have & pious and faithful wife in whom the 
heart of her husband doth safely trust." Prov. 
31 ; 11. " I value her more highly than I 
would the whole kingdom of France and the 
sovereignty of Venice ; for God has given me 
a pious wife." "The best and most valuable 
gift of God is a pious, affectionate, godly, 
domestic wife, with whom you can live at peace, 
to whom you may entrust all that you possess ; 
yea, your very body and life." 

But Catharine had in Luther not only an 
affectionate husband, but a man who, on account 
of his enlightened understanding, his wide- 
spread usefulness, and his undaunted heroism, 
deserved all the veneration he received from 
all the truly pious of his generation. 

From this time forth, Catharine was totally 
and forever weaned from the monastic life, and 
all the anxieties for the future which may have 
distressed her on her first escape, had now 
vanished. Though Luther's worldly circum- 
stances were not the most flourishing, yet he 
was aided by the liberality of the princes and 
other noble-minded men to such an extent, at 
least, that he did not absolutely suffer for the 



PERILS OF LUTHER. 55 

necessaries of life.* In this respect, Catharine's 
circumstances were much improved. However, 
many dangers threatened the bold champion of 
truth, right, and liberty, which were calculated 
to disturb the happy serenity of his wife. He 
had several alarming attacks of sickness, which 
occasioned her painful solicitude. In the first 
year of his marriage some noblemen conspired 
against him because he effected the escape of 
thirteen nuns out of a cloister in the territory 
of Duke George. He himself acknowledges 
this in a letter to Stiefel, and says of it, "I 
have chased away Satan from this booty of 
Christ. " Hence, with tears, she entreated him 
not to leave Wittenberg at such a perilous time 
when he was invited to the wedding of Spalatin, 
and he yielded. But he was not accustomed to 
be alarmed at the thunder-clouds which rolled 

* His annual compensation did not amount to more 
than about $160, but the Elector, John Frederick, sup- 
plied him with wheat, wood, free house, clothes, &c. &c. f 
to some extent. He inherited only 250 guilders from 
his father. The King of Denmark, Christian III., gave 
Luther towards the end of his days a pension of $50 a 
year. A man who was executed for murder in Leipzig 
in 1537, with a vain hope probably of reconciling heaven, 
bequeathed Luther S530, and Melanchthon $300. 



56 SICKNESS OF LUTHER. 

over him. Even as early as 1526, he under- 
took a journey in company with Catharine, and 
yet that was the time he had most to fear. But 
he was never free from danger. In 1530, when 
his father was lying on his death-bed, he dared 
not venture to visit him, but wrote an affecting 
letter, stating that his friends positively forbade 
his leaving Wittenberg, lest he might be mur- 
dered. A Jewish physician of Posen was hired 
for two thousand golden guilders to poison him. 
In 1541 he was waylaid by an assassin, but 
escaped. Notwithstanding his vigorous consti- 
tution, which seemed to promise extreme old 
age, yet from early youth he was subject to 
frequent severe attacks of sickness, and under 
such circumstances we may well wonder, that 
besides his numerous professional labors, he 
was able to prepare so many theological works, 
to conduct so extensive a correspondence with 
men of every class of society, and accomplish 
so many journeys, which must have consumed 
much time.* His master-piece, The Translation 

* In 1529 he wrote to Link, "I am daily buried in 
books, so that windows, chairs, benches, &c. &c, are 
full." As early as 1516 he said to Lang, "I have full 
employment for two secretaries. I do scarcely anything 
all day but write letters." 



SICKNESS OF LUTHER. 57 

of the Bible, was a work which scarcely any 
learned man of the present day could have 
accomplished in the same space of time, under 
similar circumstances. Let it be remembered 
that the first time he ever saw the whole of the 
Bible in the Latin language he was already 
twenty-two years of age ; that he had few of 
the preliminary aids essential to such a work, 
and that the German language was at that time 
still very imperfect. In twenty-eight years the 
translation of the whole Bible was finished and 
printed.* He suffered most from hemorrhoidal 
affections, the treatment of which was little 
understood at that time. These attacks ap- 

* Luther was aided in this work by several of his 
learned friends, as Melanchthon, Cruciger, Jonas, 
Bugenhagen, and others. He submitted his work to 
their review, and adopted such alterations as his judg- 
ment approved. Various sections or books were pub- 
lished from time to time, until finally, in 1534, the 
complete Bible was published. His work superseded 
all other previous translations, for it excelled them all 
in fidelity, force, and distinctness; and even now, 300 
years after its appearance, with all the modern progress 
in criticism and biblical interpretation, and the im- 
provements of the German language which are displayed 
in many more recent translations, Luther's Bible still 
maintains the ascendency in private and public use. 



58 SICKNESS OF LUTHER. 

peared mysterious to him, and in his depression 
of mind occasioned by them, and in the indul- 
gence of a lively imagination, he ascribed the 
painful anxieties which he felt, agreeably to 
the notions of that day, to the temptations of 
the devil, who tried to hinder him in prosecuting 
his good work by assuming various forms and 
appearances. Attacks of sickness, which were 
in part the result of his severe fastings during 
his monastic life, were aggravated by his extra- 
ordinary mental labors, by his sedentary habits, 
and the numerous painful mortifications of 
spirit to which his unconquerable love of the 
truth exposed him. Above all, it was the 
unhappy sacramentarian controversy in 1525 
which had the most injurious influence on his 
health. Hence these corporeal sufferings could 
never be entirely removed. Yet amid all his 
painful and melancholy hours Catharine was to 
him a ministering angel. By her affectionate 
sympathy, her tender nursing, and prudent 
accommodation to his whims, she greatly 
relieved his bodily and mental sufferings. She 
had frequent occasion to display these amiable 
qualities, for her husband had often recurring 
attacks of sickness. To notice but a few in- 



SICKNESS OF LUTHER. 59 

stances, we will state that as early as 1526 he 
suffered with hemorrhoids, accompanied with 
severe oppression of the breast. But it was 
particularly in 1527 that he was attacked in a 
manner that brought him to the very borders 
of the grave. In July, he was so suddenly and 
dangerously seized that his wife and friends 
trembled for his life. But both of them dis- 
played a greatness of soul and dignity of 
deportment which were truly admirable. Chris- 
tian fortitude, perfect resignation to the will of 
God, and unshaken confidence in an all-control- 
ling Providence, animated them both in the 
highest degree. They endured their present trials 
with pious submission, and with comfortable se- 
curity they anticipated future dangers. Luther 
did not think that he would recover, but believed 
that he should have to part with the wife whose 
husband he had been but two years. Catharine 
was full of terrible apprehension of being left a 
poor widow and mother of one child, without 
being able to count much on human aid, and 
having no means of support. He was to leave 
the sacred work which he had begun, and for 
which he would have sacrificed his all, and she 
was to be dependent on the kindness of some 



60 SICKNESS OF LUTHER. 

real and many equivocal friends. Yet Luther 
prayed with a submissive heart, and commended 
his wife to God's paternal care. " My loving 
and most benevolent Father ! I thank thee 
from my heart that it was thy will I should be 
poor on the earth, and hence I can leave neither 
house, field, money, nor any other property, to 
my wife and son. As thou hast given her to 
me, so I restore her to thee," &c. He also 
consoled his wife with these words ; " My 
beloved Kate, I beseech you to submit to God's 
gracious will, if it should please him to take 
me to Himself this time. You are my faithful 
wife, let the blind, ungodly world say w 7 hat it 
may. Let your conduct be governed by the 
word of God, and hold fast to it, and thus you 
will have certain and constant comfort against 
all the temptations and blasphemies of Satan." 
When, at his request, they brought his infant 
son to him, he said, " you good, poor little 
child ! now I commend your beloved mother 
and you, poor orphan, to my good and faithful 
God. You have nothing ; but God, who is the 
father of the orphan and the judge of the 
widow, will richly provide for you." Here he 
again turned to his wife, and said, " You know 



SICKNESS OF LUTHER, 61 

that, excepting the silver cups, we have 
nothing." These, and similar expressions, 
awakened the most painful emotions in the 
heart of Catharine, and yet she tried to conceal 
her grief, and to encourage him, " My dear 
Doctor," said she, "if it is God's will, I would 
rather you should be with Him than with me. 
But it is not only I and my child who must be 
taken into account, and for whom your life 
would be valuable, but there are many pious 
and Christian souls who have need of your 
presence and services. Do not distress your- 
self about me ; I commend you to His divine 
will. I trust he will graciously preserve you." 
Eight days after, Luther recovered, to the 
great joy of his wife and all his friends. 

Not long after, in the same year, a con- 
tagious disease broke out in Wittenberg, which 
created so muoh alarm that the students pre- 
cipitately fled, and the University was trans- 
ferred to Jena. The Elector, John the Con- 
stant, advised Luther to repair to Jena also ; 
but this main pillar of the new-born church 
would not leave Wittenberg, although there 
were cases of the contagion in his own family. 
Bugenhagen also remained at the post of duty. 
6 



62 SICKNESS OF LUTHER. 

Nov. 1, Luther wrote to Amsdorff, " My house 
is an hospital. I begin to feel anxious about 
my wife, who is in a delicate condition. My 
infant son has been sick these three days ; he 
eats nothing and is extremely unwell." But 
these attacks were not contagious, and their 
alarm soon subsided. In the following year, 
Luther suffered from a pulmonary affection and 
constant headache. In 1532, he was so se- 
verely attacked with vertigo that apoplexy was 
apprehended. He also occasionally suffered 
from obstinate boils ; in his later years, symp- 
toms of calculus were also apparent. In 1536, 
an affection of the hip-joint confined him to 
bed a fortnight. But in 1537, Catharine had 
especial occasion to display her affectionate 
solicitude, for her husband was again brought 
to the very brink of the grave. During this 
year he was commanded by John Frederick, 
Elector of Saxony, to proceed to Smalcald on 
important church business. Although he suf- 
fered severely from calculus, and the weather 
was extremely cold, he set out on his journey 
on Feb. 1. But he had scarcely arrived at 
Smalcald, when the pains increased to such an 
extent, to which an obstinate ischury was super- 



SICKNESS OF LUTHER. 63 

added, that everybody was doubtful of bis 
recovery. The Elector, who was present, con- 
tributed everything in his power to his restora- 
tion. He visited and consoled him. On his 
departure, he thus addressed him : " If it should 
please God to take you away, be not concerned 
about your wife and children. I will take them 
into my protection." He recovered sufficiently 
to enter on his journey home on the 26th. 
Dangerous as travelling appeared to be under 
the circumstances, yet it was of immediate 
service. On the way, he was relieved of the 
principal cause of his intense suffering, and 
communicated the joyful event to his wife and 
the sympathizing Melanchthon. To the former 
he wrote, " Yesterday I left Smalcald. I was 
not well three days whilst there ; in a word, I 
was dead, and I had commended you and the 
children to God and my gracious Elector, for I 
never expected to see you again ; but God had 
mercy on me. Most fervent prayers to God 
were offered for me, and many tears were shed 
on my account. God heard these prayers, and 
last night I was relieved. I now feel like a 
new-born man. Thank God for this ; and let 
the dear children, with Aunt Magdalena, thank 



64 SICKNESS OF LUTHER. 

the Heavenly Father, for you had almost lost 
me, the earthly father. God performed won- 
ders towards me last night through the inter- 
cession of pious persons. This I also ascribe 
to j^ou, for I presume the Elector ordered word 
to be sent to you that I was dying, so that you 
might come and speak to me, or at least see 
me before I died. That is not necessary now, 
you may remain at home, for God has so mer- 
cifully helped me that I expect soon to meet 
you happily in our own house. To-day we are 
stopping at Gotha." Something similar to this 
he wrote to Melanchthon : but, unfortunately, 
he had a relapse at Gotha, and anticipated 
death so certainly, that he requested Bugen- 
hagen to administer to him the Lord's Supper. 
As soon as Catharine heard of this she could 
be no longer restrained from setting out to 
meet him. She remained w T ith him all the time, 
and accompanied him home. Thus Luther, for 
the present, had escaped all apparent dangers, 
but every year, for the ensuing nine, he was 
attacked by some disease. Dysentery, Rheu- 
matism, fever, violent vertigo, and headache, 
painful cutaneous eruptions, and pulmonary 
affections, embittered all his days. 



CATHARINE. 65 

The affectionate sympathy, faithful watching, 
and tender nursing which he received from his 
wife, not only on these occasions, but always 
when bowed down under the immense weight of 
his other cares, moved him deeply. He fre- 
quently alluded to it in the most touching 
language. On his sick bed at Gotha, on Feb. 
28, 1537, he commended Catharine, who had 
enlivened twelve years of his life, to Bugen- 
hagen, and bore this favorable testimony to her 
character: " She has served me not only as a 
wife, but with all the fidelity and industry of a 
servant." Afterwards, he said, "I inconsider- 
ately look to Catharine and Melanchthon for 
greater benefits than to Christ, and yet I know 
that neither they nor any human being on 
earth can or will ever suffer for me as he has 
done." Soon after, he said, " How intensely I 
longed after my family when I was lying at 
Smalcald, almost dead ! I thought I should 
never see them again. How painful the idea 
of separation was ! I now believe that this 
natural inclination and love which a man has 
for his wife, and children for their parents, are 
most intense in dying persons." In his last 
will, (Jan. 6, 1542,) he said of her " that she 
6* E 



66 CATHARINE. 

had always been a pious and faithful wife, and 
she always conducted herself handsomely and 
worthily, as became a pious and faithful 
spouse."* 

But Catharine's love for her husband was 
extended also to his parents. The most strik- 
ing proof of this she gave, when, in Feb., 1530, 
Luther's father was lying very sick. She most 
heartily wished that he might be conveyed to 
Wittenberg, where she could nurse him. " Dear 
Father," wrote Luther to him, " my brother 
Jacob has informed me that you are danger- 
ously sick. I wished most eagerly to go and 
see you, but my friends dissuaded me from my 
purpose, fearing the danger to which I would 
expose myself, for you know that the Peasants 
are so violently opposed to me.f But it would 

* Jerome Weller von WolsdorfF, Luther's intimate 
friend, has said, "I remember hearing Luther often 
say that he always regarded himself extremely happy 
that God had given him such a prudent and thrifty 
wife, who cherished him so tenderly in sickness, &c. 
Whenever Dr. Luther was depressed, she, like a sensible 
wife, always consulting his welfare, secretly invited Dr. 
Jonas to her table, so that he might cheer him by his 
interesting conversation. She knew that no one could 
so well entertain him as Dr. Jonas. 

f This was during the Peasants' War. 



CATHARINE. 67 

rejoice me greatly if it were possible for you 
and mother to come to us. My wife also, with 
tears, expresses her desire that you should 
come. We will here nurse you most tenderly.'' 
But the father was unable to go, and died in a 
few months after, whilst Luther was residing at 
Coburg, where he had concealed himself during 
the diet of Augsburg. As soon as Catharine 
heard of the event, she was very solicitous about 
the effect of the intelligence on her absent 
husband, of whose affectionate attachment to 
his father she was well aware. She wrote to 
him a letter full of consolation, and in order 
more effectually to calm his troubled heart, she 
sent him a likeness of his favorite child, Mag- 
dalena, at that time an infant of a year old. 
She was not disappointed in her hopes. His 
secretary, Veit Dietrich, answered the letter, 
and said," You have done a good work in send- 
ing the likeness to the doctor ; he forgets many 
troublesome things in looking at it. He has 
hung it on the wall opposite the table at which 
we dine. AYhen he first saw it, he did not 
recognize it. 'Why,' said he ' 'Lena's com- 
plexion is dark !' But now he is remarkably 



68 CATHARINE. 

well pleased with it, and the more he looks at 
it the better he likes it. * * * * 
I pray you, do not be troubled about the doctor ; 
he is, thank heaven, well and in good spirits. 
For the first two days he was much depressed 
respecting his father's death, but has now re- 
covered his usual vivacity. " When, in the 
following year, Luther's pious mother was 
attacked with a dangerous sickness and his 
numerous engagements did not allow him to 
visit her, he wrote her a consolatory letter, the 
conclusion of which expresses in a very striking 
manner the cordial affection which Catharine 
and her children entertained for this excellent 
woman. " My wife ana children are praying 
for you. They weep and say, i Grandmother is 
very sick.' " She also died, to Luther's most 
profound regret, on June 30, 1531. 

It was not only in seasons of affliction and 
distress that Catharine deeply sympathized 
with her husband. In times of prosperity and 
rejoicing she equally displayed her interest, 
and was ever proud of his growing reputation 
and of the honors conferred on him. 

These are proofs sufficient that their matri- 
monial life was happy ; yet the foulest slanders 



DOMESTIC LIFE. 69 

were heaped upon them by the enemies of the 
cause of which Luther was now the acknowledged 
champion. 

Luther awarded to his wife the praise of 
unconditional obedience, and agreeably to the 
custom of the times she always saluted him as 
JETerr Doctor. During the first years of his 
matrimonial life particularly, when he had 
recovered from his attacks of melancholy, and 
his general health had improved, he was almost 
always in excellent spirits. He treated his 
domestics in the kindest manner, and his whole 
household was conducted in a way which con- 
tributed to the happiness of every member. He 
acceded to Catharine's supreme control over 
the affairs of the family, and never interfered, 
except when he deemed it absolutely necessary. 
He often playfully addressed her as Mrs. Doc- 
tor and Professoress, and sometimes as Master 
Catharine. All the world knew that this was 
but the outpouring of a sportive disposition and 
an affectionate heart. 



CHAPTER V. 

Income — Expenses — Hospitality — Charity — - Diet — Af- 
flictions — Despondency — Journeys — Death. 

Luther's income was disproportionate to 
his expenses. He has often said "that he 
gave more out than he took in." His pay at 
this time amounted to but 200 guilders, and his 
own family expenses to 500. Besides, he aided 
his poor relatives, and was obliged to perform 
many expensive journeys on business relating 
to the Reformation. His eminent position in 
society often subjected him to invitations to 
assume the relation of godfather, and this 
always levied contributions on his purse. He 
was also obliged to make numerous marriage 
presents, and almost daily to entertain strangers, 
which compelled him to keep a corresponding 
number of servants. His expenses were so 
great that sometimes he was embarrassed with 
considerable debts. He says, " I am unfit for 
housekeeping; I am made quite poor by the 
necessary support of my destitute relations and 

(70) 



LUTHER'S POVERTY. 71 

the daily demands of strangers. " In writing 
to another friend, he says, " You know that I 
am quite oppressed by my large domestic 
establishment, for through my thoughtlessness 
I have, during this year, made debts to the 
amount of more than 100 guilders. I have 
pledged three silver cups at one place for 50 
guilders ; but the Lord, who chastises my folly, 
will deliver me. Hence it is that Cranach and 
Aurifaber will no longer take me as security, 
for they observe that I have an empty purse. 
I have given them my fourth cup for 12 guilders, 
which they have loaned to Herrman. But why 
is it that my purse is so completely exhausted 
— no, not quite exhausted; but why am I so 
deeply immersed in debt? I believe that no 
one will charge me with parsimony, avarice,' ' &c. 
He sometimes had the honor of entertaining 
persons of exalted rank. Elizabeth, the sister 
of Christian II., King of Denmark, who had 
fled from her husband on account of his cruel 
treatment of her because she had abandoned 
popery, and the Duchess Ursula of Miinster- 
berg, an escaped nun, had often been his guests 
for upwards of three months at a time, and it 
is no small matter for a poor man to entertain 



72 LIBERALITY. 

a princess. Many monks and nuns who had 
escaped from convents had often imposed them- 
selves on his hospitality, and sometimes shame- 
fully deceived him. In 1537 he took into his 
house his relative and countryman, Agricola, 
with his wife and family, and kept them for a 
long time, until Luther procured a professorship 
for him. Luther's five children were now 
growing up, and their education was by no 
means neglected, and even the fields which his 
wife owned, near Wittenberg and Zoldorf, 
demanded no little outlay. To all this was 
superadded that peculiar disposition which has, 
however, characterized many great minds, 
which is, a perfect contempt of all earthly pos- 
sessions. The grounds of this he sought and 
found in the Bible. When with scorn he re- 
jected all offers of gold and dignities on con- 
dition of renouncing his faith, which his enemies 
made, he did right ; but it must be confessed 
that as a father of a family he was too careless 
about their wants. Thus, when some one re- 
minded him that he might, at least, lay up a 
little property for his family, he replied, " That 
I shall not do ; for otherwise they will not trust 
to God or their own exertions, but to their 



LIBERALITY. 73 

money." Thus he presented all his manuscripts 
to the printers, who were at that time also 
booksellers, and when they offered him 400 
guilders annually for the privilege of printing 
and selling his books, he rejected the offer, and 
said, " I will not sell the grace of God. I 
have enough." Only occasionally he asked for 
a copy of his books as a present to a friend. 
He charged no fee for his lectures. " It was 
my intention," said he, " after I was married, 
to lecture for pay. But as God anticipated me, 
I have all my life sold no copy of my books, 
nor read lectures for money. And if it please 
God, I will carry this honor to the grave with 
me." When the Elector, John the Constant, 
in 1529, designed to honor him with a share in 
a productive silver mine at Schneeberg as a 
compliment for his translation of the Bible, he 
replied, " It much better becomes me to pay 
the amount of my share with a pater noster, 
that the ores may continue productive and the 
product may be well applied." This he con- 
firmed soon after, (Sept. 8, 1530,) with these 
words, " I have never taken a penny for my 
translation, and never asked it." And at 
another place he says, " If I did not feel such a 
7 



74 LIBERALITY. 

painful concern for his sake who died for me, 
the whole world could not give me money 
enough to write a book or translate any portion 
of the Bible. I am not willing to be rewarded 
by the world for my labor ; the world is too 
poor for that!" Melanchthon promised him 
1000 guilders compensation if he would finish 
the translation of iEsop, begun in 1530, and 
dedicate it to some great personage ; but 
Luther desired to labor exclusively for the 
diffusion of the Gospel, and write theological 
works, for which he would receive no pay. 
Another friend made him a present of 200 
guilders, which he generously divided among 
poor students. When, in 1529, Bugenhagen 
brought him a gift of 100 guilders from a rich 
gentleman, he gave Melanchthon the half of it. 
As early as 1520, he received a bequest of 150 
guilders from Dr. Heinrich Becke of Naumburg, 
and in 1521, a person named Marcus Schart 
presented him with 50 guilders, which he di- 
vided with his prior, Breisger. When the 
Elector, John the Steadfast, in 1542, ordered 
a tax to be levied to raise money to carry on 
the war against the Turks, and exempted 
Luther's property, the latter would not consent 



LIBERALITY. 75 

to it, but for the sake of the example had pro- 
perty to the amount of 610 guilders assessed.* 
Many other similar instances of his remarkable 
disinterestedness, which, however, were not 
always worthy of imitation, might be mentioned. 
He was liberal and benevolent as even few r rich 
men are, and hence it is that his children 
received no large inheritance from him. Thus 
on one occasion a very poor man applied to 
him for help. He had no money at hand, and 
his wife was sick ; but he took the donation 
which had been made to his infant at its recent 
baptism, and gave it to the applicant. The sick 
wife, who soon missed the money out of the 
savings-box, expressed her displeasure, but 
Luther meekly replied, " God is rich; he will 
provide in some other way." 

At another time, a young man who had 
finished his studies, and was about to leave 
Wittenberg, made a similar request. Luther 
was again destitute of funds. With sincere 
sympathy he deplored his inability to aid the 
youth ; but when he observed his deep distress, 
his eye fell on a silver cup which had been pre- 

* This property was obtained by gifts from the 
benevolent. 



76 luther's diet. 

sented to him by the Elector. He looked 
inquiringly at his wife ; her countenance seemed 
to reply, no ! but he hastily snatched the cup 
and gave it to the student. The latter was 
much astonished, and was unwilling to take it. 
Catharine also, by winks and looks, intimated 
to her husband not to press the acceptance of 
it on the stranger. But Luther, with a great 
effort, pressed the sides of the cup together and 
gave it to the young man, saying, " I have no 
use for a silver cup. Here, take it ; carry it 
to a goldsmith, and keep all you can get for it." 
Luther was indebted to the punctuality, 
thrift, and economy of his wife, for the small 
property in land, furniture, and books, which 
he left at his death. She has been charged 
with parsimony as well as with a multitude of 
other sins by Luther's enemies, but there is 
no evidence to sustain the accusation. If she 
was economical when her husband had no 
guests in his house — which was not often the 
case — it rather redounded to her credit, and 
arose from necessity. This course was pursued 
with his sanction. He was always temperate 
in his diet. Sometimes, even when he was in 
good health, he partook of no substantial food 



luther's afflictions. 7T 

for four days together. At other times a little 
bread and a herring sufficed for a day ; or, that 
he might study the more intensely, bread and 
salt constituted his meal. Of course, at other 
times, he lived more generously, but always 
within the bounds of moderation. 

Catharine not only sympathized most sin- 
cerely with her husband in all his joys and 
sorrows, but she herself suffered severe afflic- 
tions, some of which were calculated to fill a 
mother's heart with inexpressible anguish. 
Some of these have been already alluded to. 
In August, 1538, they were both attacked with 
fever, and in July, 1539, they providentially 
escaped a violent death. Luther had had a 
new cellar constructed, which he went to inspect 
in company with his wife. They had scarcely 
left the cellar, when the ground caved in with 
a terrible crash. In loud thanksgivings to 
God they expressed their sense of this miracu- 
lous deliverance. In January, 1540, Catharine 
was brought nigh to death at the birth of a 
child. To Luther's great joy, she gradually 
recovered. The death of their second daughter, 
Magdalena, in 1542, at the age of fourteen — 
the first, Elizabeth, had died in 1528 — bowed 



78 DOMESTIC SORROWS. 

her heart deeply, and overwhelmed her with 
sorrow. Scarcely had the pious sufferer en- 
dured these severe visitations with the resigna- 
tion becoming a true Christian, when she was 
called on to deplore the death of her most in- 
timate and valuable friend, the wife of Dr. 
Jonas. This unexpected event was so much 
the more painful to Luther, inasmuch as when 
in secret he reflected on his own departure out 
of this w T orld, he always reckoned on the wife 
of Dr. Jonas as the comforter of his widow and 
children. 

In 1545, the three sons of Luther and his 
yet surviving daughter, Margaretta, were all at 
the same time attacked with the measles, and 
the latter also suffered in addition, from a 
severe and dangerous fever. 

About this time, Luther, very unexpectedly 
to his friends, determined to leave Wittenberg. 
His strength was exhausted by disease, and by 
his numerous literary labors. He was disap- 
pointed and chagrined also on various accounts, 
and longed for repose. As soon as this became 
known, Bugenhagen and others were sent to 
him on the part of the University and the town, 
whose tears and entreaties prevailed on him to 



JOURNEY TO MERSEBURG. 79 

remain for the present. But in July, 1545, he 
was bent on carrying out his determination, 
and travelled in company with his eldest son, 
John, by way of Lbbnitz and Leipzig to Merse- 
burg, where he visited Prince George, of 
Anhalt, whom, on this occasion, he solemnly 
consecrated to the office of Coadjutor of the 
Chapter of the Cathedral. During his stay in 
Leipzig, he wrote (July 28), to his wife, " I 
should like to arrange it so that it would not 
be necessary for me to return to Wittenberg. 
My feelings are so alienated that I do not care 
any longer about being there. I also wish that 
you would sell our house and other property. 
I wish you would return the large house to my 
gracious master,* and it would be better for 
you to settle at Zallsdorff whilst I yet live ; for 
after my death you will hardly find a support 
in Wittenberg, hence you had better do it 
during my lifetime. " Catharine was extremely 
surprised at this determination ; but as her 
husband had enjoined it upon her to inform 
Bugenhagen and Melanchthon of his purpose, 
and to request the former to take leave of the 
congregation in his name, she, at least, com- 

* The Elector had presented hira with a house. 



80 RETURN TO WITTENBERG. 

plied with this wish. But not so the University. 
As soon as the members had learned the pur- 
port of his letter, they sent not only a copy of 
it to the Elector, and a letter to his Grace, 
beseeching him to influence Luther to return ; 
but they and the town council also sent Bugen- 
hagen and Melanchthon, and some other depu- 
ties, as a committee to see him. The Elector 
himself wrote to him, promising to render his 
condition at Wittenberg more comfortable, and 
summoned him to appear at his palace at 
Torgau for further conversation on the subject. 
Luther instantly obeyed the summons, and 
appeared at Torgau. The Elector persuaded 
him to return to Wittenberg. Sick and de- 
pressed in heart he arrived there on the 18th 
of August, where he was received with open 
arms by all his friends. 

But this gratification was of short duration 
for them and Catharine ; for in January, 1546, 
completely debilitated by the effects of pro- 
tracted sickness, he entered upon a journey of 
another character, from which, alas ! he never 
returned. His youngest sister, Dorothea, was 
married to Paul Mackenrot, who was in the 
service of the Elector. The family of Macken- 



JOURNEY TO EISLEBEN. 81 

t 

rot possessed productive silver-mines in the 
duchy of Mansfeld, which excited the envy of 
the dukes of Mansfeld, and led them to the 
determination of securing to themselves the 
entire products of the mines, for before they 
had received only the tenth and some other 
perquisites. As soon as Luther heard of this 
unjust proceeding, he undertook to maintain 
the rights of his brother-in-law, and in 1540 
wrote to Duke Albert on the subject ; but his 
intercession was fruitless. In 1542, he re- 
newed his attempts, but without any favorable 
result. In 1545, he travelled to Eisleben and 
to Mansfeld on the same mission, but all to no 
effect. Soon after, Luther was urgently en- 
treated by the Dukes themselves (of whom, 
Albert was a Protestant, and the other two, 
Philip and John George, were still Catholics,) 
to appear personally at Eisleben in order to 
settle this difficulty as well as some others 
existing among them. Although his health 
was in a wretched condition, he promised to go. 
After he had preached in Wittenberg, the last 
time, on January 17, 1546, he took leave of 
his friends, and on the 23d, he departed, ac- 
companied by his three sons ; John, 19 years 

F 



82 ALARMING SICKNESS. 

of age, Martin 14, and Paul 13. He passed 
through Halle, where he visited his friend, Dr. 
Jonas, at that time pastor in that city. Jonas 
accompanied him to Eisleben; but as he ap- 
proached that city, he was so exhausted that 
he fainted, and they were apprehensive of his 
death ; but he was conveyed to a house where 
they rubbed him with warm cloths, and he was 
soon restored. He arrived safe at Eisleben on 
the 28th, but a violent attack was soon renewed. 
Catharine, who on the departure of her husband 
could easily have anticipated these attacks, on 
having been informed of them by the eldest 
son, John, who had been sent back, forwarded 
some remedies from her own domestic medicine- 
chest, the good effects of which he had often 
experienced. On the 1st and 6th of February 
he communicated to her the state of his own 
health and of the affairs at Mansfeld, and 
entreated her to lay aside any undue anxiety 
about himself. But he soon expressed an 
intense desire to return home. He wrote to 
that effect on the 10th, and again in a jocose 
style besought her not to be uneasy on his 
account. But he was never to see her again. 
As he anticipated, he was destined to die in the 



DEATH OF LUTHER. 83 

place of his birth.* Although he suffered keenly 
from pulmonary affection, he not only preached 
four times, but performed much other impor- 
tant business. But his end had come, and he 
died on February 18, 1546, in the 63d year of 
his age. Dr, Jonas and the court preacher at 
Mansfeld, Michel Coclius, who, with others, 
were present at his death, immediately commu- 
nicated the melancholy event to the Elector, 
and requested his Grace to issue orders respect- 
ing the funeral, as well as to have a letter of 
consolation written to his bereaved widow. 
The intelligence was conveyed so rapidly to 
Torgau, that the Elector, on the same evening 
of the day on which Luther died, answered the 
letter, and gave immediate orders in relation to 
his funeral. 

* He was born in Eisleben on the 10th of November, 
1483. 



CHAPTER VI. 

Catharine, a Widow — Her Support — Sufferings — Jour- 
neys — Death. 

No one was more deeply distressed at his 
death than the mourning widow. For more 
than twenty years she had lived with him in 
uninterrupted harmony ; had sought to alleviate 
his sufferings, and had shared his joys; and 
she was not permitted to see him die nor minis- 
ter to his last wants ! Even if he did die 
among friends, yet she was not there to smooth 
his pillow and to perform those tender offices 
which an affectionate wife alone knows how to 
do. When on the 22d of February the corpse 
was conveyed to Wittenberg and deposited in 
the castle church, and all the inhabitants of the 
city went to meet the melancholy procession, 
there stood Catharine weeping, and with her 
children looked on her deceased husband. 

She survived him nearly seven years, and 
cherished his memory most affectionately. 
Though his enemies assailed him most virulently 

(84) 



85 

when he was no longer present to defend him- 
self, yet she never allowed her affection to cool 
nor her interest in his work and reputation to 
abate. 

The black velvet cloth which had covered 
the funeral car came into the possession of the 
widow, and for many years it was preserved 
among Luther's posterity as a valuable me- 
mento. Neither did the Elector forget her. 
He wrote her a letter of condolence, in which 
he sought to comfort her on the grounds of the 
happy death of her husband, and the secret, 
wise councils of God. At the same time, he 
repeated his assurances of his protection of her 
and her children. 

Although Luther had expressed a desire that 
Catharine should remove from Wittenberg, 
fearing that after his death she might not be 
able to support herself there, yet induced by 
good reasons, she resolved to spend the re- 
mainder of her days in that place ; for where 
could she expect to find better friends than in 
Wittenberg ? Bugenhagen, Cruciger, Melanch- 
thon, and others, were still living, who were 
her counsellors and comforters ; and Witten- 
berg was also the place where her sons had 
8 



86 DONATIONS TO THE WIDOW. 

already begun their education, and where they 
could most advantageously finish it. 

Luther had, some time before his death, 
made ample provision, consisting of various 
kinds of property, for his wife,* which she was 
to hold independent of her children, in the 
event of her remaining a widow. In the docu- 
ment conveying it to her he speaks of her in 
the most exalted terms as a pious woman, a 
faithful wife, and an affectionate mother. The 
property thus left was far from being sufficient 
to maintain the widow and her children. The 
Elector of Saxony, agreeably to his promise, 
contributed to her support. The dukes of 
Mansfeld and the King of Denmark also 
liberally came to her help. The Elector, John 
Frederick, of Saxony, who had already paid 
the funeral expenses, thus wrote to Dr. Schurf, 
Professor of Medicine and Rector of the Uni- 
versity: "And as we have heard that the 
widow of the sainted Luther is in need of pe- 
cuniary assistance, we send you by 

this messenger 100 gold Groschen for her use." 

* All the property he ever owned was received from 
his father, his friends, and the Elector. He never 
accumulated any by his own savings. 



DONATIONS TO THE WIDOW. 87 

He also wrote to Cruciger and Melanchthon, 
the guardians of the children, to select a teacher 
for the two younger sons, Martin and Paul, 
with whom they should also board. He directed 
that with regard to the oldest son, John, they 
should wait six months longer, to ascertain 
whether he was inclined or qualified to study 
a learned profession, and if not, the Elector 
promised to give him employment in his palace 
as a clerk or secretary.* To enable the guar- 
dians to execute his wishes with regard to the 
children, the Elector sent them 2000 guilders. 
He likewise afterwards sent the same sum to 
the widow. The dukes of Mansfeld, for whose 
benefit Luther had undertaken many journeys 
and suffered much trouble, were not behind ; in 
the same year they established a fund of 2000 
guilders for the benefit of the widow and chil- 
dren, from which they drew an annual interest 
of 100 guilders. Part of the capital only was 
paid, for when Catharine died, in 1552, 1000 
guilders still stood to her credit. The year 
after Luther's death, Christian III., King of 

* This son, John, afterwards studied law at Witten- 
berg, and subsequently filled responsible offices under 
several successive Electors. 



88 WAR OF SMALCALD. 

Denmark, transferred for her benefit 50 dollars, 
the remainder of a sum which he had previously 
granted to Luther and several of his friends. 
Catharine wrote to the King, expressing her 
profound gratitude for this act of benevolence. 
But she was soon called on to experience 
additional sorrows. The Smalcald War had 
already broken out in 1546, which brought 
desolation into many peaceful and happy 
families. Catharine did not escape the general 
calamity. The Elector, John Frederick, who 
would certainly have done more for her, was 
taken prisoner at the battle of Muhlberg, April 
24, 1547 ; Wittenberg was besieged on the 5th 
of May, and on the 25th, Charles V., with his 
Spanish troops, entered the city as conqueror. 
All the faithful subjects of the Elector, and 
many persons who had embraced the doctrines 
of the Reformation, had left before the siege. 
The widow of the Reformer, with her children, 
could not possibly remain behind. She accom- 
panied Dr. George Major, Professor of Theology, 
to Magdeburg, and thence, sustained by the 
town council of Helmstadt, she went under 
Melanchthon's protection to Brunswick, from 
whence Dr. Major was to conduct her to 



CATHARINE'S DESTITUTION. 89 

Copenhagen. Here she expected farther pro- 
tection and support from the King of Denmark, 
as her illustrious benefactor, the Elector of 
Saxony, could no longer assist her. But she 
did not proceed farther than Gifhorn, near 
Brunswick; for a proclamation appeared pro- 
mising a safe return and the secure possession 
of their property to all who had left the country. 
It seemed best to her, as well as to Melanch- 
thon, to return to the home she had abandoned. 
But her life, from this period, was an unbroken 
series of sorrows. The assistance she had for- 
merly received from the liberality of the Elector 
was withdrawn ; the annual contribution of the 
King of Denmark — although he had promised 
further help — had not been sent since 1548, 
and her small real estate was loaded with taxes. 
It would have been difficult for her to support 
herself and four children if she had not, some 
time subsequently, mortgaged her little farm at 
Zillsdorff for 400 guilders, and pawned some 
silver-ware for 600 guilders. She also rented 
out several rooms in her house, as her husband 
had done, and boarded the occupants, and thus 
she contrived to gain a meagre subsistence. 
In the beginning of the year 1548, she 
8* 



90 Catharine's destitution. 

travelled with Melanchthon to Leipzig, in order 
to solicit from the imperial assessor some dimi- 
nution of the oppressive war tax. Melanchthon 
also wrote to the King of Denmark, entreating 
him to continue the annual contribution which 
he made during Luther's lifetime. Bugenhagen 
wrote similar letters to his Majesty, begging 
him, for Luther's sake, to come to the help of 
"the poor widow and her children." But as 
these repeated appeals were fruitless, she her- 
self wrote to him, October 6, 1550. In this 
letter, she calls to his mind the services which 
her illustrious husband had rendered to the 
cause of Christianity, and his Majesty's former 
liberality to him. In pathetic terms she repre- 
sents her destitute condition and the severity 
of the times, occasioned by the existing wars. 
She says, "Your Imperial Majesty is the only 
king on earth to whom we poor Christians can 
fly for protection, and God will doubtless richly 
reward your Majesty for the kindness you 
have bestowed on poor Christian preachers and 
their widows and children. " This letter did 
not immediately produce the desired result. 
Two years afterwards, when most sorely pressed 
by want, she repeated her entreaty, and wrote 



Catharine's treatment. 91 

again. In this letter she complains of her 
forsaken condition, and declares that she had 
been more unkindly treated by professed friends 
than enemies. She writes in a deeply despond- 
ing tone, and seems to be on the brink of 
despair. Bugenhagen seconded this appeal to 
the King, and it was successful ; a contribution 
was received which relieved her immediate 
wants and comforted her desponding heart. 

Luther's exalted merits were not always re- 
cognized, at least, not in the way in which they 
should have been. The widow of the man who 
conferred favors on thousands at the expense 
of extraordinary self-sacrifice, often pined in 
misery, and paid the severe penalty of his dis- 
interestedness and liberality. With much truth 
could it be said in a discourse commemorative 
of her virtues: " During the war she wan- 
dered from place to place with her orphan 
children, enduring the most trying privations 
and perils, and, besides the numerous trials of 
her widowhood, she also encountered much 
ingratitude from many, and she was often 
shamefully deceived by those even from whom 
she had a right to expect kindnesses on account 



92 Catharine's death. 

of the inappreciable services of her husband to 
the Church." 

After the peace of Passau (July 31, 1552), 
security was re-established for the Protestants, 
and the former elector of Saxony was restored 
to liberty. 

About this time a contagious disease broke 
out in Wittenberg, and all the members of the 
University removed to Torgau. Catharine also 
determined to leave the place with her two 
younger sons, Martin and Paul (John was 
studying at Konigsberg), and her only daugh- 
ter, Margaret, was to follow them a short time 
after. On the journey the horses became 
unmanageable and ran away with the carriage. 
Catharine, more concerned about the children 
than her own safety, and with the hope of 
facilitating their escape, leaped out of the 
vehicle and fell violently into a ditch full of 
water. This painful accident gave such a 
severe shock to her system that she was con- 
veyed to Torgau in a very weak condition, 
where she took her bed and never left it alive. 
Her illness increased from day to day, and 
soon assumed the decided character of consump- 
tion. Two months after, December 20, 1552, 



Catharine's monument. 93 

she died in the 54th year of her age. Her 
funeral was attended by an immense crowd of 
persons. The professors, students, and citizens, 
united in demonstrations of respect for the 
deceased widow of the illustrious reformer. 

During the whole period of her sickness, she 
comforted herself with the promises of God's 
word. She heartily prayed for a peaceful 
departure out of this vale of tears. She fre- 
quently commended the Church and her chil- 
dren to the continued protection of God, and 
her daily supplication was that the true doc- 
trine, which the Lord had given to the world 
through her deceased husband, might be trans- 
mitted uncorrupted to posterity. 

A plain monument in the city church of 
Torgau designates the place where her remains 
repose. On the monument or tombstone there 
is a recumbent statue, the size of life, with an 
open Bible pressed to the heart. The inscrip- 
tion is, Anno 1552, den 20 December. 1st in 
Gott selig entschlaffen alhier Zu Torgau Herrn 
D. Martin Luther's Seligen hinterlassene Wittwe 
Katharina von Bora. 



CHAPTER VII. 

Luther's Children — Domestic Character — Catharine. 

Catharine had been the mother of six chil- 
dren, three sons and three daughters. 1. John, 
born June 7, 1526 ; studied law, and became a 
civil officer in the service of the Elector of 
Saxony ; died October 27, 1575, aged 50 years. 
2. ^Elizabeth; born December 10, 1527, died 
August 3, 1528. 3. Magdalena ; born May 4, 
1529 ; died September 20, 1542, aged 14; 4. 
Martin; born November 7, 1531 — studied 
theology ; died March 3, 1565, aged 34. 5. 
Paul ; born January 28, 1533 — studied medi- 
cine, and became court physician to the Elector 
of Saxony ; died March 8, 1593, aged 61 years. 
6. Margaret; born December 17, 1534; died 
1570, aged 36 years. 

Luther was accustomed to say, "The more 
children we have, the more happiness we enjoy. 
They are the loveliest fruits and bonds of the 
domestic life." He was never more happy than 
in the circle of his family, and whoever saw 

(94) 



LUTHER AS A PARENT. 95 

him there forgot that he was the man who 
spoke without fear or trembling with emperors, 
kings, and nobles. He was much averse to 
noisy entertainments. " I lose too much time 
at such festal gatherings with the citizens. I 
do not know what demon it is that prevents me 
from abandoning them, and yet they do me 
much harm/' said he. It was in the bosom of 
his family and in the company of a few select 
friends in which he sought the most agreeable 
relaxation from the burdensome cares of his 
life, and gathered fresh vigor for his arduous 
labors. Surrounded by his wife and children, 
and by the side of his intimate friends, as 
Spalatin, Bugenhagen, Cruciger, Melanchthon, 
and a few others, he took part in the innocent 
amusements of life with a heart full of gratitude 
to God, who favored him with these evening 
relaxations. In 1543, he celebrated his 62d 
birthday, and invited Melanchthon, Bugenha- 
gen, Cruciger, George Major, and Eber ; it 
was the last time he celebrated that day. Sub- 
jects of solemn import came up for conversa- 
tion. Luther, in a prophetic spirit, said> " As 
long as I live, with God's help, there will be 
no danger, and Germany will continue peaceful ; 



96 LUTHER AS A PARENT. 

but when I die, then pray ! There will be 
really need of prayer ; our children shall have 
to grasp their weapons, and there will be sad 
times for Germany. Hence, I say, pray dili- 
gently after my death." He then turned to 
Eber particularly, and said, "Your name is 
Paul ; hence be careful, after Paul's example, 
to preserve and defend the doctrine of that 
Apostle." 

Luther was a man of a sociable disposition, 
always enjoying conversation enlivened by wit 
and edifying anecdote. He excelled in spicy 
conversation himself, and was the life of every 
circle of distinguished men. But he especially 
found the sweetest enjoyment in conversation 
with his wife and children, and often, too, from 
the innocent prattle of the latter he derived no 
ordinary edification. When his heart was sad, 
he w T ould take one of them into his arms and 
tenderly caress it. Thus, on more than one 
occasion, he took the youngest child, and, 
pressing it to his bosom, with deep emotion 
exclaimed, u Ah ! what a blessing these little 
ones are, of which the vulgar and the obstinate 
are not worthy." On another occasion he said, 
" I am richer than all papal theologians in the 



LUTHEK AS A PARENT. 97 

"world, for I am contented with little. I have 
a wife and six children, whom God has bestowed 
on me ; such treasures the papistic divines do 
not deserve." Little Martin was once playing 
with a dog; " See," said Luther, who took a re- 
ligious view of the most ordinary circumstances, 
and thus also in social life he became the 
teacher of those around him; " See," said he, 
" this child preaches God's word in its actions ; 
for God says, ' Have, then, dominion over the 
fishes of the sea and the beasts of the earth/ 
for the dog suffers himself to be governed by 
the child." On one occasion, this same child 
was speaking of the enjoyments of heaven, and 
said" In heaven, loaves of bread grow on the 
trees." The father replied with a smile, " The 
life of children is the happiest and best of all, 
for they have no worldly cares; they know 
nothing about fanatics and errorists in the 
church, and have only pure thoughts and 
pleasant reflections." He was amusing himself 
one day with the child, and said, " We were all 
once in this same happy state of mind in Eden ; 
simple, upright, without guile or hypocrisy — 
we were sincere, just as this child speaks of 
God, and in earnest." 
9 



98 LUTHER AT HOME. 

At another time, he remarked that Martin 
afforded him special delight because he was his 
youngest child. " We do not find such natural 
kindness in old persons; it does not flow so 
freely and fully. That which is colored or 
feigned loses our favor ; it is not so impressive ; 
it does not afford as much pleasure as that which 
springs up naturally from the heart. Hence 
children are the best playmates ; they speak 
and do everything sincerely and naturally. How 
Abraham's heart must have beat," he continued, 
" when he was called on to sacrifice his son ! I 
do not think he told Sarah anything about it ! I 
could contend with God if he demanded anything 
similar of me." Here the maternal feeling of 
Catharine was roused, and she observed, " I 
cannot believe that God could demand of 
parents the slaughter of their children." He 
removed her objections by reminding her of the 
greater sacrifice which God the Father made 
by offering his own son as a ransom for our sins. 

Margaretta was once speaking to her father 
of Jesus, the angels, and heaven. Deeply 
moved, he exclaimed, " Oh ! how much better 
than ours is the faith and life of children ! The 
word which they hear they accept with joy and 



LUTHER AT HOME. 90 

-without any doubts, and are happy. But we 
old fools have painful anxieties, and dispute 
long. Well has Christ said, l Unless ye be 
converted and become as little children, ye 
cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.' Christ- 
mas, particularly, was a season of joyful festi- 
val in Luther's family. No annual fair, such 
as are to this day held in Germany, passsed by 
in which he did not purchase presents for his 
children. With deep regret he wrote to his 
wife, when he was in Torgau, in 1532, that he 
could find nothing in that town to buy for the 
little ones at home. 

Vocal and instrumental music was a frequent 
source of family entertainment, especially after 
supper. Luther himself accompanied it with 
the flute or the lute, both of which he played 
skilfully. He often invited accomplished 
singers, and thus held family concerts in his 
house. When his time and the weather per- 
mitted, he repaired to what was afterwards 
called Luther s Spring, which he himself dis- 
covered, and over which, after his marriage, he 
had a neat summer-house erected. He spent 
many an hour of pleasant enjoyment in his 
garden, with his wife engaged with her needle, 



100 LUTHER AT HOME. 

and the children playing around him. Here he 
often invited his friends to exhibit to them the 
luxuriant fruit of his own cultivation. As the 
children increased in years, especially the sons, 
he made them his companions. He took them 
with him on his numerous journeys, and they 
accompanied him on his last and eventful tour 
to the place of his birth, and, as it proved, the 
place of his death. That he might enjoy the 
society of his wife as much as possible, he 
pursued his labors with her at his side or in- 
vited her into his study. She often copied his 
manuscripts for the press, and otherwise ren- 
dered aid in writing. He communicated to her 
everything of special interest relating to the 
progress of the Reformation not only orally 
when at home, but by letter during his absence. 
He also frequently read aloud for her enter- 
tainment, and sometimes even extracts from 
the books of his opponents, such as Erasmus 
and others. He often gave her striking pas- 
sages of Scripture to commit to memory, such 
as Psalm 31, which was particularly applicable 
to her condition after his death, just as though 
he had anticipated it years before. She, on 
the other hand, often urged him to the perform- 



LUTHER AT HOME. 101 

ance of pressing duties, especially answering 
letters. Her participation in his affairs was 
kindly reciprocated by him. He patiently 
listened to all her requests, and in his letters 
executed many of her commissions. It was 
only when he desired to complete some work 
which allowed no postponement that he dis- 
pensed with her presence. At such times, he 
locked himself in his study for days, and ate 
nothing but bread and salt, that he might, with- 
out interruption, pursue the work in hand. 
This often occurred, and he would not allow 
himself to be disturbed. On one occasion he 
had been thus locked up for three days ; she 
sought him everywhere — shed bitter tears — 
knocked at all the doors and called him, but 
no one answered. She had the door opened by 
a locksmith, and found her husband profoundly 
absorbed in the explanation of the 22d Psalm. 
She was proceeding to reprimand him for 
occasioning such painful anxiety, but he was 
impatient of the interruption to his studies, 
pointed to the Bible, and said, " Do you think, 
then, that I am doing anything bad? do you 
not know that I must work as long as it is day, 
for the night cometh in which no man can 
9* 



102 LUTHER AT HOME. 

work?" But his tone and look sufficiently 
indicated to her that he was, after all, not 
unduly excited. At his social assemblies, his 
walks for recreation, and short excursions into 
the country, she was his inseparable companion 
as often as circumstances permitted. When 
numerous business calls necessarily compelled 
him to leave home, he wrote to her the most 
affectionate and often the most humorous letters. 
The birth of his first child (June 7, 1526,) 
afforded him peculiar gratification. He com- 
municated the fact to many of his correspon- 
dents in a strain of pleasant humor, and, of 
course, received their congratulations in return. 
The child was baptized soon after birth by Dr. 
Borer, and named John by the grandfather. 
Bugenhagen, Jonas, and the painter, Cranach, 
senior, were his godfathers. From his earliest 
years this boy excited the liveliest hopes in his 
parents on account of his uncommon mental 
qualities, and it was he who gave occasion to 
the preparation by the father of several excel- 
lent books for children. Luther possessed the 
rare faculty of letting himself down to the 
capacity of children without himself becoming 
a child. This son's name often occurs in the 



LUTHER AT HOME. 103 

letters of Luther, and he is always mentioned 
as a lad of uncommon promise and an agreeable 
plaything to his father and mother. He thus 
writes to Hausman : " Besides this, there is 
nothing new, except that my Lord has blessed 
my Kate and made her a present of a healthy 
son. Thanks and praise for his unspeakable 
goodness. Mother and child send their respects 
to you." Sometime after he wrote to Spalatin, 
" My little Hans salutes you. He is now 
teething, and begins to scold everybody about 
him with the most amiable reproaches. Kate 
also wishes you every blessing, and particularly 
that you also may have a little Spalatin, who 
may teach you what she boasts of having learned 
from her boy, viz : the joys of matrimonial life, 
of which the Pope and his satellites are not 
worthy." Luther's friends were much attached 
to this child on account of his amiable disposi- 
tion, and sent him many presents suitable to 
his age. When the boy was yet but four years 
old, his father wrote to him the following letter : 
" Grace and peace in Christ, my dearest little 
son. It pleases me much to hear that you love 
to learn and to pray. Continue in this good 
way, my child ; when I come home I will bring 



104 luther's letter. 

you a beautiful present. I know where there 
is a beautiful garden into which many children 
go. They wear gilded garments and gather all 
manner of fruit from under the trees ; they 
sing, leap, and are happy. They also have 
beautiful little horses with golden bridles and 
silver saddles. I asked the man who owns the 
garden what sort of children they were. He 
replied, 6 They are children who love to pray, 
to learn and serve God.' Then I said, 'My 
dear sir, I also have a son called little Hans 
Luther ; may he not also go into the garden, 
that he, too, may eat these beautiful apples and 
pears, and ride these nice horses and play with 
these good children?' He answered, 'Every 
little boy who loves to pray and learn, and is 
good, may come into the garden, Lippus and 
Jost* also, and if they all come together they 
shall also have all sorts of musical instruments, 
and dance and shoot with little crossbows.' 
And he pointed out to me a meadow in the 
garden suited for a children's playground, and 
there w T ere hanging golden instruments of 
music and beautiful silver crossbows. But it 
was yet early, and the children had not yet 

* Sons of Melanchthon and Jonas. 



luther's children. 105 

eaten their breakfast, hence I could not wait to 
see the children dance and play, and I said to 
the man, i Ah, my dear sir, I will go without 
delay and write all this to my beloved little 
son, Hans, that he may diligently pray, learn 
well, and be pious, so that he, too, may come 
into this garden ; but he has a little sister, 
Lehna, whom he must bring with him.' Then 
the man said, ' It must be so ; go and write to 
him.' For this reason, dear son, learn and 
pray, and tell Lippus and Jost also to do the 
same, and then you shall all go into the garden. 
I commend you to God. Kiss Lehna for me. 
Your dear Father, M. L., 1530." 

The prudent discipline of the mother, exer- 
cised with tender earnestness, gradually de- 
veloped the moral and intellectual faculties of 
this youth in an eminent degree, and this, com- 
bined with his religious and scientific attain- 
ments, as subsequently displayed, afforded the 
father unspeakable gratification. In his 15th 
year this youth received the most honorable 
testimonial of his industry in study and general 
excellence of character from John William, the 
second son of the Elector, John Frederick, 
promising further encouragement and aid in 



106 luther's children. 

the prosecution of his studies. When he was 
properly qualified by preliminary attainments 
to attend a higher school, he was sent to the 
Gymnasium at Torgau. Afterwards, he studied 
law at Wittenberg and Konigsberg, and on his 
return from his travels in various countries of 
Europe he was appointed Court Councillor by 
John William, in which office he subsequently 
served under the brother of the Elector. He 
was dismissed at his own request, and entered 
the service of Duke Albert in Konigsberg, and 
died October 28, 1575, aged 49 years. 

His second child, Elizabeth, was born during 
the prevalence of the contagious disease in 
Wittenberg before alluded to. She lived only 
nine months, and Luther's grief at her death 
was excessive. He thus writes to Hausman: 
" Never could I have believed a parent's heart 
could be so tender towards children ; seldom 
have I mourned so deeply. My sorrow is like 
that of a woman." 

The death of his third child, Magdalena, at 
the age of 14, was a severe affliction. She was 
a girl of unusual promise ; amiable, gifted, and 
pious. Her complete resignation to the will of 
God — her vivid conception of the doctrines of 



death of luther's daughter. 107 

the Bible — her strong faith in the Saviour, 
and her filial and religious virtues, distinguished 
her far above many of her tender years. She 
was for a long time confined to bed, and she 
felt that her end was rapidly drawing nigh. 
She ardently desired to see her brother John, 
who was a student at the academy at Torgau. 
The father gratified her wish, and despatched 
a messenger to summon the absent son to the 
death-bed of his sister. Luther, as far as was 
possible, watched by the side of the dying 
child. Although the trial was severe, his 
patient submission to the will of God was char- 
acteristic of the man and the Christian. 
"Alas!" sighed he, "I love this child most 
tenderly ; but 0, God, as it is thy will to take 
her to thyself, I cheerfully resign her into thy 
hands." Then he advanced to the bed and 
spoke to the suffering child, " Magdalena, my 
daughter, you would willingly remain with your 
father on earth, and yet you also desire to go 
to your Father in heaven." On which she 
replied, " Yes, dearest father, just as it pleases 
God." He continued, " Dearest child, the 
spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." Over- 
come by emotion, he turned away and said : 



108 death of luther's daughter. 

u Oh ! how I love this suffering child ! but if 
the flesh is now so strong, what will then the 
spirit be ! — well, whether we live or die, we are 
the Lord's." When she was breathing her 
last, the mother, overwhelmed with sorrow, 
retired from the couch ; Luther threw himself 
on his knees, wept convulsively, and implored 
God to release the child from suffering ; he 
then took her by the hand — and she died. 
The father at once had recourse to the Scrip- 
tures to seek consolation for his grievous loss. 
He opened the book, and the passage, Romans 
14 ; 7, first arrested his attention : " For none of 
us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to him- 
self." This expressive passage was as a balsam 
to his wounded heart. When the body was 
deposited in the coffin, he said, " Thou dear 
Magdalena ! how happy thou art ! 0, dear 
Magdalena, thou wilt rise again, and wilt shine 
like a star, yea, like the sun." But the coffin 
having been made too small, he said, "This 
bed is too small for her, now that she is dead. 
I am indeed joyful in the spirit, but after the 
flesh I am very sad ; the flesh is slow to come 
to the trial ; this separation troubles us exceed- 
ingly; it is a marvellous thing to know that 



death or luther's daughter. 109 

she is certainly happy, and yet for me to be so 
sad !" When the people came to attend the 
funeral, and, according to custom, addressed 
the Doctor, and said that they sincerely con- 
doled with him in this affliction, he said, " You 
should rejoice : I have sent a saint to heaven, 
yea, a living saint. ! if only such a death 
were ours ! such a death I would be willing to 
die this moment!" When one said, a That is 
indeed true ; yet we all wish to retain our 
relatives," Luther replied, " Flesh is flesh and 
blood is blood. I rejoice that she has passed 
over ; I experience no sadness but that of the 
flesh." Again, he said to others present, u Be 
not grieved, I have sent a saint to heaven, yea, 
I have sent two." When she was buried, he 
said, " It is the resurrection of the flesh," and 
when they returned from the funeral, he said, 
" Now is my daughter provided for, both as to 
body and soul. We Christians have no cause 
to complain ; we know that it must be thus. 
We are perfectly assured of eternal life ; for 
God, who, through his Son and for the sake of 
his Son, has promised it unto us, cannot lie." 

Throughout the whole of this trying event 
Luther showed all the tenderness of an affec- 
10 



110 luther's children. 

tionate father, and all the resignation of a 
Christian. 

His second son, Martin, was tenderly cher- 
ished by the father. He himself feared that 
the child would be spoiled by too much affec- 
tionate attention and favoritism. In reference 
to this, he said, " The love of parents is always 
stronger for the younger than the elder children, 
and the more they require the care and protec- 
tion of the parents the more dear are they to 
them. Thus, my Martin is now my dearest 
treasure, because he demands more of my 
attention and solicitude. John and Magdalena 
can walk and talk and can ask for what they 
want, and do not require so much watchful 
nursing. " But afterwards, Luther's anxieties 
about him were very great. " He is rather a 
wild bird," said he, " and he occasions me much 
solicitude.'' But Martin, who was not without 
talents, studied theology, and it was only con- 
tinued ill-health that prevented him from pub- 
licly assuming the office of a preacher. He 
spent his life in private teaching. In an 
obituary notice of him, it is said that " he pos- 
sessed such strong mental faculties and such 



luther's children. Ill 

striking oratorical powers, as even to have 
excited the admiration of his father." 

Of the third son, Paul, when yet a child, 
Luther thus spoke : " He is destined to fight 
against the Turks," alluding to the energy of 
character then observed in him, and w T hich was 
afterwards so strikingly developed. And truly, 
this Paul, endowed as he was with unusual 
decision and unshaken perseverance, was the 
most gifted of Luther's sons, even if he did not 
in all respects possess the heroic spirit of his 
father. He was not only a zealous promoter 
of the science of Alchemy, so highly prized at 
that day, but he was a distinguished chemist, 
and succeeded, by his assiduous labors, in 
making many useful discoveries in Chemistry 
and Medicine. He also possessed a thorough 
knowledge of ancient languages. He was 
devoted with all his heart to the religious doc- 
trines which his father restored, and defended 
them with zeal and ability. He w T as so strenu- 
ously attached to the orthodox system of 
theology, that he once refused a very flattering 
call to the University of Jena on account of the 
presumed heresies which the theologian, Vic- 
torine Striegel, had promulgated at that seat 



112 luther's children. 

of learning, and he soon afterwards received 
the appointment of private physician to John 
Frederick II., at Gotha. In 1568 he served Joa- 
chim II., of Brandenburg, in the same capacity, 
by whom he was elevated to the rank of Council- 
lor, and richly rewarded. Afterwards (1571), he 
was employed by the Elector, August, and his 
successor, Christian I., at Dresden. The for- 
mer not only honored him by inviting him to 
be sponsor to his children, but also presented 
him with a farm, which, however, never came 
into the possession of his family, inasmuch as 
the subsequent times, during which the Calvin- 
istic Chancellor, Crell, held the helm of affairs, 
were not favorable to the prosperity of the 
sternly Lutheran Paul Luther. This same 
Calvinistic spirit, finally, was the occasion of 
his retiring into private life in 1590. He 
moved to Leipzig, where he died in 1593. 
At the baptism of this son, Luther said, "I 
have named him Paul ; for St. Paul has taught 
us many great and glorious doctrines, and 
hence I have named my son after him. God 
grant that he may have the gifts and grace of 
the great Apostle ! If it please God, I will 
send all my sons away from home ! If any one 



luther's children. 113 

of them has a taste for the military profession, 
I will send him to Field-Marshal Loser ; if any 
one wishes to study, him I will send to Jonas 
and Philip ; if any one is inclined towards 
labor, him I will send to a farmer." But after- 
wards, when he became better acquainted with 
their disposition, he changed his mind. u God 
forbid," said he, "that my sons should ever 
devote themselves to the study of the law ; that 
would be my last wish. John wdll be a theolo- 
gian ; Martin is good for nothing, and about 
him I have great fears ; Paul must fight against 
the Turks." But history teaches us that his 
wishes were not gratified. He himself subse- 
quently advised Paul to study medicine, and 
the example of John induced all the educated 
sons of Luther's children for several generations 
to study law. 

The sixth child, Margaret, who entered into 
a happy matrimonial alliance, was dangerously 
attacked with fever after the measles, from 
which her brother suffered at the same time. 
Her father was much alarmed about her condi- 
tion, but comforted himself with the thought 
that she would be taken out of this present evil 
world. She married George V. Kuhlheim, a 
10* H 



114 LUTHER'S CHILDREN. 

civil officer in the Prussian service, who was a 
pious man and a most ardent admirer of Luther, 
and especially of his writings, of which his 
favorite one was " Luther's Exposition of the 
Book of Genesis." So profound was his rever- 
ence for the Reformer, that the fact was thought 
worthy of being mentioned in the sermon 
preached at his funeral. His youngest son 
must have inherited his father's disposition and 
character, for he always esteemed it the high- 
est possible honor to be " the grandson of the 
great Luther." 

It is not known to what extent Catharine 
took part in the education of her children ; but 
a woman of her mild and amiable temper and 
strong decision of character must have con- 
tributed much to the proper training of her off- 
spring. These prominent traits exercised a 
subduing influence even on her husband ; and 
Erasmus, who was at this time bitterly opposed 
to him, says, " Since Luther's marriage, he 
begins to be more mild, and does not rave so 
fearfully with his pen as formerly." Presuming 
this to be true, it speaks well for the character 
of Catharine as a woman and a wife. 

Luther not only employed special teachers 



LUTHER AT HOME. 115 

for his children, but also instructed them him- 
self, notwithstanding his numerous other en- 
gagements. He says, " Though I am a Doctor 
of Divinity, still I have not yet come out of the 
school for children, and do not yet rightly un- 
derstand the ten commandments, the creed, and 
the Lord's Prayer, but study them daily, and 
recite the catechism with my little Hans and 
Magdalena." For years he superintended their 
instruction, diligently watching their progress, 
and often giving them tasks to perform. But, 
above all, he was solicitous about their religious 
and moral training, agreeably to his own sound 
principle. The father must speak out of the 
children. The proper instruction of children is 
their most direct way to heaven, and hell is 
not more easily earned than by neglecting 
them ! They were taught to pray and to read 
the Scriptures and other devotional books in 
the presence of the family. Particularly during 
their meals did he address them in impressive, 
paternal admonitions. Morning and evening 
he assembled his numerous family, house- 
teachers, guests, and domestics, to worship. 
When it is elsewhere said that Luther " daily 
spent three hours in private devotion,' ' it must 



116 LUTHER AT HOME. 

be restricted to the period of the Diet of Augs- 
burg, when he was concealed at Coburg. 

Luther, during all his life, was a man of 
prayer. Although he was opposed to mechani- 
cal formality in regard to special times and 
seasons, as he had been taught in the church 
of Rome, yet he maintained a certain order and 
regularity in the performance of this Christian 
duty. Matthesius, one of his biographers, and 
a cotemporary, says, " Every morning and 
evening, and often during meals, he engaged 
in prayer. Besides this, he repeated the smaller 
catechism and read the Psalter. * * * In all 
important undertakings, prayer was the begin- 
ning, middle, and end." 

"I hold," says Luther, "my prayer to be 
stronger than Satan himself, and if that were 
not the case it would long since have been quite 
different with Luther. If I remit prayer a 
single day, I lose a large portion of the fire of 
faith." His writings contain many sparkling 
gems on the subject of prayer. 

Fondly as he was attached to his children, 
yet he never showed a culpable indifference to 
their errors, and, least of all, when they were 
unruly or displayed anything like ingratitude 



LUTHER AT HOME. 117 

or deception. On one occasion when John, at 
twelve years of age, was guilty of a gross im- 
propriety, he would not allow him to come into 
his pres-ence for three days, and paid no regard 
to the intercessions of the tender mother and 
of his intimate friends, Jonas and Cruciger, but 
forgave him only after he had repented of his 
fault and humbly begged for pardon. He said, 
" I would rather have a dead son than a rude 
and naughty living one. Paul has not in vain 
said, 'A bishop must be one who ruleth well 
his own house, having his children in subjection, 
so that other people may be edified, witnessing 
a good example, and not be offended.' We 
ministers are elevated to such a high position 
in order to set a good example to others. But 
our uncivil children give offence to other 
people. Our boys wish to take advantage of 
our position and privileges, and sin openly. 
People do not inform me of the faults of mine, 
but conceal it from me. The common saying 
is fulfilled, ' We do not know the mischief done 
in our own families ; we only discover it when 
it has become the town-talk.' Hence we must 
chastise them, and not connive at their follies. " 
Once, when he saw a youth of fine personal 



118 LUTHER AT HOME. 

appearance and uncommon abilities, but of cor- 
rupt morals, he exclaimed, " Ah ! how much 
evil an over indulgence occasions ! Children 
are spoiled by allowing them too much liberty ; 
hence I shall not overlook the faults of my son 
John, nor shall I be as familiar with him here- 
after as with his little sister." But Luther, 
though he received from his father a severe 
training, and was roughly treated at school, 
was too well acquainted with human nature not 
to know that undue severity in all things 
created a cowardly, slavish fear in the minds 
of some children, and obstinacy and dissimula- 
tion in others. Hence he pursued the golden 
medium, and tried to accomplish his purpose by 
kind and yet earnest admonitions. " I will not 
chastise Hans too severely, or he will become 
shy of me and hate me," said he. "We must 
take care to teach the young, to find pleasure 
in that which is good ; for that which is forced 
out of them by stripes will not be profitable, 
and, if this is carried to excess, they will only 
continue good as long as they feel the lash. 
But by admonition and judicious chastisement, 
they learn to fear God more than the rod. We 
must often stammer with children, and in all 



LUTHER AT HOME. Il9 

good things come down to a level with them, 
that is, we must be tender, affectionate, and 
condescending, and, if that is of no avail, then 
we may employ severity." 

When he saw his wife or children suffering, 
his sympathizing heart often found relief in 
tears. "I love my Catharine," he would say, 
" I love her more than I do myself. I would 
rather die myself than she and the children 
should die." It was only when the cause of 
religion was concerned that the dearest object 
on earth was not too dear ; for the honor of 
religion and truth, he would have sacrificed wife 
and children. Deeply penetrated with this 
sentiment, the magnanimous Reformer, when 
he had already become the father of two chil- 
dren, could most cordially say, in the spirit of 
Christ's words, " Let them take my life, pro- 
perty, reputation, children, and wife— let them 
all go — the kingdom of God is still ours." His 
heroic hymn, " Eine feste Burg ist unser 
Gott,"* sufficiently shows his feelings on this 
subject. 

* See a translation in Hymn 907 of our Hymn-Book. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Character of Catharine. 

It must be acknowledged that there is 
nothing remarkably striking in the history of 
Catharine de Bora, considered apart from her 
relation to her illustrious husband. She was 
distinguised by no extraordinary talents or 
surprising act of heroism after her marriage ; 
she has left no literary monument to perpetuate 
her memory, nor any public institution founded 
by her munificence. She was nothing more 
than the " virtuous" woman so eloquently 
described by King Solomon in the last chapter 
of the Book of Proverbs, but she was that in 
an eminent degree. A noble dignity and a 
temperate self-reliance were the fundamental 
traits of her character. Hence, though depend- 
ent on others for support, she possessed suffi- 
cient independence of mind to reject several 
brilliant offers of marriage, and showed herself 
worthy of Luther. Her resolution to exchange 
the noiseless cloister for a life of honorable and 

(120) 



CATHARINE. 121 

useful activity in the disturbed world without, 
displayed not only a noble courage in the cer- 
tain anticipation of poverty and persecution, 
but also a strong confidence in God. It is more 
than probable that she read many of Luther's 
writings as soon as they appeared, not actuated 
by a blind curiosity, but with a sincere desire 
to ascertain the truth, and to derive from them 
instruction for heart and head. Afterwards, 
during her married life, she took every oppor- 
tunity of correcting and enlarging her religious 
views. Although, as the result of the spirit of 
that age and of her previous monastic training, 
she was not profoundly educated, yet Luther 
esteemed her as a woman possessing a noble, 
dignified, independent spirit, in whose feelings 
and opinions he found an echo of his own. 
Pious, in the proper sense of the word, she 
found her highest enjoyment in solitary com- 
munion with God, and those hours which she 
devoted to the attentive reading of the Scrip- 
tures were always the most happy. To this 
profitable exercise she was often exhorted by 
her husband, and she followed his advice. Said 
she, 4 ' I hear a great deal of the Scriptures, and 
read them diligently every day." In writing 
11 



122 CATHARINE. 

to Jonas on one occasion, Luther says, " She is 
a diligent reader of the Bible ; she shows deep 
earnestness in this duty." She faithfully 
attended the public means of grace also, and 
with her Christian brothers and sisters wor- 
shipped God in the sanctuary. She was de- 
votedly attached to the doctrines of the Refor- 
mation, and one of her dying prayers was for 
their preservation in purity to the end of time. 
She never neglected her domestic duties. To 
her husband, in all the relations of his active 
life, she was the most affectionate companion ; 
in his sickness, the most faithful nurse ; in his 
troubles, the most tender comforter : to her 
children, she was a most gentle mother ; in her 
household affairs she was a model to all in 
regard to cleanliness, order, and neatness ; to 
her domestics and dependants, a condescending 
and indulgent mistress. She was liberal with- 
out extravagance, economical without meanness, 
hospitable without ostentation. Her questions 
and opinions, still preserved in Luther's 
writings, show a strong desire for mental 
improvement, an enlightened understanding, a 
clear and dispassionate penetration. This 
elevated, intellectual character of Catharine, 



CATHARINE. 123 

connected with her lofty independence and self- 
confidence, created a distaste for the company 
of other less cultivated and less dignified ladies, 
for the glory of her husband also encircled her 
head, and the house of Luther was the central 
point of union of the distinguished men of that 
day. Hence we need not wonder that, by the 
envious, she was accused of pride. It is true, 
that now, after the lapse of three hundred years, 
there may be many more refined and accom- 
plished women than Catharine was, for she was 
not distinguished for learning or science ; but 
none exceed her in that pious, Christian dispo- 
sition which was so forcibly expressed in her 
words and actions. Her lively temperament 
and affectionate heart admirably qualified her 
to feel the warmest sympathy in the diversified 
events of her husband's life, and most kindly 
to participate with him in his joys and sorrows. 
But above all, it was not less her pious disposi- 
tion than her persevering faith which identified 
her so completely with himself ! Whenever the 
opposition of the enemy disturbed the quiet of 
the husband, Catharine never faltered for a 
moment, and proceeded to administer consola- 
tion to his dejected heart. During the preva- 



124 CATHARINE. 

lence of a contagious disease, in 1527, her con- 
fidence in God was not unshaken, so that Luther 
could in truth write, u Catharine is yet strong 
in the faith." Also, as a widow, when she was 
subject to attacks of sickness and adverse cir- 
cumstances, her equanimity never entirely 
failed. She was especially solicitous about her 
children, and devoted all the energies of body 
and mind to their welfare. It cannot be denied 
that Catharine partook of the common lot of 
mortals ; she had her faults and infirmities ; 
but they are all overshadowed by those 
numerous exalted virtues which are not always 
found united in one person of her sex. She 
was a pattern of every domestic and Christian 
virtue ; of righteousness and good works to her 
generation, and may the daughters and wives 
of the present day imitate her example, and 
profit by the practical lessons which her life 
has taught ! 

If she could make no pretensions to personal 
beauty, still she possessed not a little that was 
attractive. She was of medium size, had an 
oval face, a bright, sparkling eye, an expansive, 
serene forehead, a nose rather small, lips a 
little protruding, and cheek-bones somewhat 



CATHARINE. 125 

prominent. Erasmus speaks of her as a woman 
of magnificent form and extraordinary beauty ; 
but Seckendorf says this is an extravagant 
picture of her. The later opponents of Luther 
agree with Erasmus in representing her as very 
beautiful, and falsely charge the Reformer as 
being attracted only by her personal charms. 
Maimbourg says, " Among the nuns, there was 
one named Catharine von Bora, whom Luther 
found to be very beautiful, and whom, on that 
account, he loved." Varillas and Bossuet re- 
port, " That he married a nun of high rank and 
uncommon beauty." Char don de la Rochette 
relates the following fact : " I have found the 
likeness of Luther and his wife in a lumber- 
room in Orleans, where they are in great dan- 
ger of going to ruin. I will bet that there is 
no man who would not wish to have so beautiful 
a wife as Catharine von Bora. It is the first 
time that I have seen her picture, and it justi- 
fies the opinion which Bossuet has expressed 
of her appearance. She has a noble, expres- 
sive, and animated face." But Luther himself 
says of her, " A wife is sufficiently adorned and 
beautiful when she pleases her husband, whom 
she ought to please." 
11* 



126 CATHARINE. 

Her likeness was frequently painted, and 
at various periods of her life, by the distin- 
guished artists of that age, such as Cranach, 
senior, Cranach, junior, and Hans Holbein, 
junior. Cranach, senior, painted her likeness 
in oil colors sixteen times, and the other artists 
mentioned, several times each. Many of these 
original portraits are still to be seen in the 
various picture galleries of Europe. There are 
extant more than forty different copper-plate 
and wood-engravings of her likeness. It has 
also been transferred to porcelain-ware and 
other articles of domestic use. A number of 
medals containing her likeness have been struck 
to commemorate her virtues, and plaster casts 
of the bust of full life size have also been made. 
All this shows the high esteem in which she has 
ever been held by those who can appreciate 
exalted virtue and genuine Christian character. 

As a proof of her artistic skill and her profi- 
ciency in ornamental needle-work, even in that 
distant age, there is, to this day, exhibited in 
the vestry-room of the cathedral at Merseburg, 
a blue satin surplice which she embroidered for 
her husband, and which he wore on the occasion 



\m ivJ»3 



CATHARINE. 127 

of some great solemnity, and in the former 
University library at Wittenberg, they still 
show a likeness of Luther, neatly and elegantly 
worked in silk by Catharine. But these works 
will perish, whilst the results of her faith, hope, 
and charity, will endure forever. 



THE END. 



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